Young children naturally love to explore 2D shapes and 3D objects, but they do not develop any Geometric concepts from merely looking at pictures and listening academic definition, such as a rectangle had 4 sides and 4 corners; rather, they need to explore and experience shape, space and position though playing various concrete materials or patterns in our environment; such as, running in straight line, skipping in circles, building castles, making models, creating pictures, or climbing on a frame (Copley, 2000, & Skinner, & Stevens, 2012). Especially in classroom activities, children need to build, make, print, cut apart and put back together different types of 2D shapes and 3D objects so that they experience more than merely name or classify shapes (Copley, 2000, & Skinner, & Stevens, 2012).
According to Sarama and Clements (2012), there are six steps to teach young children about Shapes, which are
According to Sarama and Clements (2012), there are six steps to teach young children about Shapes, which are
- building knowledge,
- analysing,
- supporting visual memory,
- combining shapes,
- reproducing shapes and recombination of shapes,
- and creating with shapes.
1. Building Knowledge of Shapes
Talking about simple 2-dimentional shapes and 3-dimentional objects with children, such as storybooks, top of bottle water and balls, and name the shapes children see in their environment, such as ball is sphere or A4 paper is rectangle.
Teaching Resources:
Talking about simple 2-dimentional shapes and 3-dimentional objects with children, such as storybooks, top of bottle water and balls, and name the shapes children see in their environment, such as ball is sphere or A4 paper is rectangle.
Teaching Resources:
A World Of Shapes from Karen C |
|
2. Analysing Shapes
After familiar with simple shapes, children are able to look at key concepts like side, corner, face, edge and vertex though analysis shapes in their environment. To ask children look for shapes in classroom or playground, compare the same shapes to look for properties.
Teaching Resources:
After familiar with simple shapes, children are able to look at key concepts like side, corner, face, edge and vertex though analysis shapes in their environment. To ask children look for shapes in classroom or playground, compare the same shapes to look for properties.
Teaching Resources:
- Here is a website called Maths is Fun for children. It talks about properties of different shapes, including both 2-dimentional shapes and 3-dimentional objects, and offers definitions and related pictures; it includes various activities that related to specific concepts or definitions; it can also be used in classroom as interactive resource.
|
(The document that shown on left is a PDF file of the website called Maths is Fun, it presents the structure of teaching topic Geometry, and includes a lot links to definitions and activities.)
|
- Here is a lesson called Shapes!!! by Amanda Chuba, it includes hands-on activity, and is designed for children from Prep and Kinder. The lesson focus on names shapes, and each of their characteristics that makes them that shape; it mainly focus on 2-dimentional shapes. It aims to help children recognise and name each shape with 100 percent accuracy and being able to name at least one defining characteristic of each shape.
|
(The document that shown on left offers details of the lesson Shapes!!, it presents teachers a clear expectation of the lesson, a step-by-step plan and required materials.)
|
3. Supporting Visual Memory
The next step is to build children's visual memory of pictures and shapes though a lot activities and games in school and at home.
Teaching Resources:
The next step is to build children's visual memory of pictures and shapes though a lot activities and games in school and at home.
Teaching Resources:
- Flash Game: Show a child a very simple picture, such as a line drawing, for only two or three seconds. Then cover it and ask the child to describe it. Move to more complicated pictures as the child's ability increases. Continue to play flash game with variations. For example, show a child one of three drawings that are very simple for two seconds. Then mix all three up and let the child find the one that you showed. This game can cover both 2-dimentional shapes and 3-dimentional objects.
- Here has three Computer Games that can help children remember shapes, they are Sammy's Symmetry Shuffle (focus on symmetry and using 2-dimentional shapes), Shape Shooter (requires players follow order to shoot shapes, it mainly focus on 2-dimentional shapes, and requires players can recognise various shapes as quick as possible) and Shipping Shapes (requires players classify shapes in groups, such as circle, square or cube, it requires players are familiar with various shapes, and includes both 2-dimentional shapes and 3-dimentional objects).
4. Combining Shapes
As soon as children are able to recognise simple shapes, combine these shapes in activities. After children have studied horizontal and vertical lines, for example, examine pictures with children, such as city scenes, and invite them to find all the horizontal and vertical lines they can, and talk about the vertical and horizontal lines in classroom, and how they combine to make different shapes and objects.
Teaching Resources:
As soon as children are able to recognise simple shapes, combine these shapes in activities. After children have studied horizontal and vertical lines, for example, examine pictures with children, such as city scenes, and invite them to find all the horizontal and vertical lines they can, and talk about the vertical and horizontal lines in classroom, and how they combine to make different shapes and objects.
Teaching Resources:
|
|
Activities: Un-separate pieces of tangram paper to find your solution 1.Name all of the tangrams 2.How many ways can you make a square use tangram pieces? 3. How many ways can you make a rectangle use tangram pieces? 4. Can you make a square without use triangle tangram pieces? 5. Make a square using all tangram pieces. |
A book called ‘New Figures of the Tangram’ by Shan-Chiao, was published in China in 1815, and it contained 374 tangram patterns. This book was written during the reign of emperor Chia-Ching when tangrams were at their most popular in China. Tangrams were called ‘Chi-Chiao Pan’ which means ‘the seven intriguing pieces’ and were known to the Chinese as the ‘wisdom puzzle’.
|
5. Reproducing Shapes and Recombination of Shapes
After building children's knowledge of shapes and combinations of shapes, encourage them to reproduce them. Showing children a square that made with blocks or pipe cleaners, for example, challenge them to copy the shape, and then challenge them to make a cube.
Teaching Resources:
After building children's knowledge of shapes and combinations of shapes, encourage them to reproduce them. Showing children a square that made with blocks or pipe cleaners, for example, challenge them to copy the shape, and then challenge them to make a cube.
Teaching Resources:
- Interactive whiteboard games - Three Shapes & Hexagons and Triangles (These two games are the same, except using different shapes. They are designed for children in Level 1 and 2, The games require players to decorate a room in a house with patterns made of rhombuses, squares, equilateral triangles, etc. Players can also create their own designs with rhombuses, squares and equilateral triangles in the play space; but the most important is the pattern that players create must has no gaps between shapes. It is mainly focus on 2-dimentional shapes.)
6. Creating with Shapes
After reproducing shapes, encourage children to invent their own design and pictures by drawing and using concrete materials, such as pipe cleaners, building blocks. Using different materials encourage children to think about the shape in different ways; to make a square, for example, if they use blocks, they have to choose correct number of blocks (four equal lengths), if they use pipe cleaners, they have to bend them "just right" to make the square corners, and then move forward to build a cube by using the materials.
Teaching Resources:
After reproducing shapes, encourage children to invent their own design and pictures by drawing and using concrete materials, such as pipe cleaners, building blocks. Using different materials encourage children to think about the shape in different ways; to make a square, for example, if they use blocks, they have to choose correct number of blocks (four equal lengths), if they use pipe cleaners, they have to bend them "just right" to make the square corners, and then move forward to build a cube by using the materials.
Teaching Resources:
- One of our member Ting taught a lesson about Shape in her placement school, here are the teaching materials of the lesson.
Who am I ? Who am I ? Who am I ? Who am I ?
I have 4 sides I have 3 sides I have one sides only I have 4 sides like a square
I have 4 corners I have 3 corners I have no coners I have 4 corners like a square
All my sides are the But...I only have 2 sides are the same length
same length
I am a ... I am a ... I am a ... I am a ...
SQUARE!! TRIANGLE!! CIRCLE!! RECTANGLE!!
I have 4 sides I have 3 sides I have one sides only I have 4 sides like a square
I have 4 corners I have 3 corners I have no coners I have 4 corners like a square
All my sides are the But...I only have 2 sides are the same length
same length
I am a ... I am a ... I am a ... I am a ...
SQUARE!! TRIANGLE!! CIRCLE!! RECTANGLE!!
- Ting said: 'This is the Prezi I prepare for the tangram lesson, and some students' works hanging in the classroom.'
|
|
Books and resources
Here are some books for teachers to plan lesson: |
Concrete Materials
Here are some concrete materials that can help children understand the topic: |
|
|
This website is created and designed by Di Song (24843377), Di Zhang (23229314) & Yu Ting Yin (25083228).