Part of understanding a geometrical shape is knowing how to calculate its perimeter and area. If you are teaching senior elementary classes who have already learned perimeter and area for rectangles and triangles, have your students figure out how to calculate the perimeter and area of a hexagon. Students should realize quickly that they simply need to add the length of all six sides together to find the perimeter. It may take them longer to realize that a regular hexagon is a square or rectangle with a triangle on either side, making it quite easy to calculate its area.
Once your students know the formulas for calculating the perimeter and area of a hexagon, they can start putting this information to practical use. Give your students word problems that force them to figure out when to use the formulas they know. Give them a situation, such as a man who walks 15 feet around the edge of a hexagonal room with a perimeter of 30 feet. Have them figure out where in the room the man ends up.
Cutting out hexagons to make pictures can help students become familiar with the hexagon, especially younger students not advanced enough to begin calculating measurements. Have students build an object using only hexagons. They can make a snowman, a fire hydrant, a house or anything else. Give students scissors and construction paper of various colors. Have them glue their shapes on a sheet of white or black paper.
You can use hands-on activities to demonstrate why hexagons are the perfect shape for making certain objects. Bring a soccer ball into class, as well as a picture of a honeycomb. Ask students why they think that these objects are made of hexagons. Let students figure out that the hexagon is an efficient way to make a sphere without any gaps. Have students try to draw a sphere made of hexagons to demonstrate this principle.