1-2-3 Come Do Some 3D Shape Activities With Me

Besides learning 2D shapes, another of our Y5 standards is to be able to recognize, name, and give an example of the 3D shapes: cone, cube, sphere & cylinder.

Instead of learning each one independently, I teach all four of the 3D shapes at the same time. 

To help my students learn this vocabulary, I used glue dots to stick a small, solid 3D shape on my calendar display. 

It takes just a few seconds to point to each one and have my students say the name 3 times. They enjoy using their normal voice for the 1st time, a loud voice for the 2nd time, and then they whisper the word. 

I switch things up and sometimes ask them to say the shape words in a grumpy voice, high-pitched squeaky voice, or whatever.   In october we use a monster, Dracula, witch and ghost voice.  They learn this vocabulary very quickly.

Initially, I noticed that when I pointed to the plastic ball, some of my students were saying spear, instead of sphere, so listen carefully  and correct. To help reinforce the sphere as well as the other 3D shapes I use a beach ball.

You can buy them at The Dollar Store.  Using a permanent marker I drew each shape on a section of the ball, along with its name.  In just a few minutes everyone gets a turn to catch & toss the ball. 

Wherever their hands land, they point to and share the name of that shape. Since it's so light weight and travels slowly, even if a toss bonks someone or something we're safe. 

Since my kiddos absolutely LOVE this activity, I have beach balls for letters, numbers & the other 2D shapes.

We also make cubes with plastic waffle blocks.

Another super-fun thing we do, that takes just a moment is when my kiddos are transitioning, I'll say: "I spy a cube? Who else sees it?"  We then recognize various cubes around the room. 

I also have an extra set of the solid shapes and sometimes put them in my pocket, then when we are in the hallway on bathroom break. I'll hold one up 'til someone notices that I have a shape. That child gets to decide how many times (1-10) we hop on one foot and say the name. 

It's a great way to get the wiggles out while waiting. You'll find that there are lots of teachable moments in the day to cram in a bit of learning in fun & interesting ways.

Besides the above tips, I designed a jumbo 3D Shapes packet, which is filled with a nice assortment of activities to help learn, reinforce, review & assess.

The packet includes:
* A “My 3D Shape (trace, write & color) Booklet”
* A “Flip the Flap” Craft: So that you can choose different skill levels, there are several options, which will practice the solid shape, its name, a real world example, as well as attributes. 

Simply choose which is right for your kiddos . Besides black & white, patterns also come in color, so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share.

* Also included, is a 3D Shapes: Popsicle Stick Puppet Pal, which is a quick, easy & fun way to whole-group assess, at the same time reinforcing attributes.

Children become 3D shape detectives. You read clues from my list.  As students listen, they decide which shape is being described, then hold up that shape on their puppet stick. 

Teachers can see at a glance who is having difficulty.  Jot yourself a note, and work with these kiddos later. 

The packet also includes:

* Pocket Chart Cards
* Posters plus...
* Venn Diagrams, which are one of my favorite ways to teach comparison & contrast.  Because I teach all 4 shapes at the same time, this is a quick, easy & fun way to reinforce differences, so that students can easily describe & identify the shapes. 

Older students can do these individually or partner up to complete a worksheet, while younger kiddos can complete one as a whole group activity. There are also a number of ...

* Centers as well as...
* A variety of "Print & Go!" Worksheets.  One of my students favorites is "I Spy Real World Shapes", which is a color, cut & glue activity.
* Some of the worksheets & games double as interesting & fun Assessments.

*The 3-piece "match me up" Puzzles, plus the number strip Puzzles are another way to immerse children with the shapes.  The strip puzzles reinforce number recognition plus counting from 1-20 & skip counting by 10s.  I love hitting several standards with one activity.

There are activities for a variety of standards such as: sorting, patterning, graphing counting, attributes, groups/sets, simple addition & subtraction, as well as greater & less than.

I've also included a number of simple GAMES:
* “What Shape’s Hiding?”
* “ Four Corners”
* Memory Match
“ I Have; Who Has?
* “What’s Missing?”
“I Spy!
“* 3D Shapes on a Roll!”
* Spying Real World Shapes!
* “What Shape Am I?”

Finally, there are templates you can use as paper manipulatives.  Simply print, laminate & trim.  Students can pattern, sort, count, show groups & sets, as well as make equations & do simple addition & subtraction problems using the math symbol "tiles". 

The packet can be used for morning work, review, assessing, centers, whole-group activities, early finishers, homework or something for your Sub Tub. Click on the link 3D Shape Activities to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look.

There are two featured FREEBIES today, both help reinforce the 3D shapes as well. One is a set of 3D posters that come in a variety of sizes so that you can use them as anchor charts, flashcards, bookmarks or for games. 

The other is an emergent reader: "Community Helpers Shape Up!"  I hope you find them useful.

I also found a cute 3-minute YouTube video where Exie the excavator is building a city with 3D shapes. Click the link to have a look.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

PTL the clouds have burst and the sky is soaking my thirsty garden. 

A wonderful respite from the hot & muggy weather we've been having. Wishing you a refreshing day.

"Some people feel the rain; others just get wet." -Roger Miller