3-D Shape Showcase

This year, I found many students struggled to name basic shapes, both 2-D and 3-D. This is a standard for our grade level but not a focus standard so I tried something new that would help them identify the shapes. Our next step after naming real world shapes is describing them by their attributes. This project helped students learn a new app, practice organize shapes in space and produce a product they can use along the way as a resource tool. We used Pic Collage to make a 3-D Shape Showcase, but really it is like a personal math word wall. Their products are below, but thanks to Kristi Meeuwse over at iTeach with iPads who is a constant source of ideas and reassurance for me in my 1:1 iPad Kindergarten classroom here outside Chicago. No shout out is quite big enough for this amazing educator!

Did you notice words aren't spelled quite right? Not a problem since the objective of this lesson is to increase the student's oral language not written language, specifically with the labeled words above. Can't spell sphere but can identify one and describe it as a solid shape with no corners? A+ in my book! Also another example of how technology helps make this product accessible to students of all skill levels. 

Resources came from a 3-D Shape Hunt the students were assigned for homework. Thanks to all our families who did an amazing job with this piece at home!

-Molly Mac and Class

Shapes Activity

Hi all,

 This week we are working toward the K.G CCSS standards, and a pre-assessment showed me many students cannot name the basic shapes (!). To explore shapes and practice talking about their attributes, we used the tangram game on a beloved website, abcya.com. Then, students worked in pairs and trios to help their "teams" recreate the shape on their Tangrams app on their iPads. They were about as engaged as a teacher could want with a puzzle like this, but their conversations were the real best part. 

"I noticed two triangles connected make a diamond."
"You have to rotate the square so it's like a rhombus."
"Slanted lines come from when you spin it."

The tool, on our iPads:

The task, projected on the SMARTBoard:

Really excited to continue with this activity and see what skills and language come out of it.

-Molly Mac and Class