Lines, Rays, and Line Segments

Have you ever drawn a super straight path with your crayon. Or looked at the edge of one of your building blocks. When you shine a flashlight in the dark, you can see a bright, straight beam of light. I am in all of those places. I am the straight path you see everywhere. Hi there. We are a special family. I'm a Line, this is my brother Line Segment, and this is my sister Ray. We love to make straight paths for you to see and use in your big world.

My family is very special, and we are all a little different. My brother, Line Segment, is short and has a start and a stop, just like a ruler you use to measure things. My sister, Ray, starts in one spot and goes on and on in one direction, just like a warm sunbeam coming from the big sun. And me, the Line, I am the longest of all. I go on forever and ever in both directions, zoom. We are a super old family. A long, long time ago, around 2000 BCE, people in a place called ancient Egypt used us to build their giant pyramids straight and tall. Later on, around 300 BCE, some very wise thinkers in ancient Greece gave us our special names and learned all about how we work together.

We love helping you play and create every single day. When you draw a square house with a pointy roof, you use my brother, Line Segment, to make the sides. When you point your finger to show your friend something far away, your arm is like my sister, Ray. We help you connect the dots in a fun puzzle and build tall, tall towers with your blocks that almost touch the sky. We are the building blocks for all your wonderful drawings and big ideas. Keep looking for us everywhere you go. We will always be there to help you build and draw.