Shape Shifter
Age group
- Early Years (Age 3 to 6)
- Primary (Age 6 to 9)
Curriculum Goal
Kindergarten: Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviour
Describe, sort, classify, build, and compare two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional figures, and describe the location and movement of objects through investigation.
Primary: Geometry and Spatial Sense
Describe the relative positions of several objects and the movements needed to get from one object to another.
Related Links
Context
- Students can work individually.
- Two to four students work together in person or in an online space.
Materials
In-person version
- Grid (Appendix A)
- Seven pegs (Appendix B)
- Eight coloured shapes (Appendix B)
Online version
Lesson
- The goal is to place every shape on the board around the pegs.
- Each student can place the pegs wherever they would like on the board.
- Students can place as many pegs on the board as they like. They do not need to place all seven.
- Students then take turns flipping, translating and rotating the shapes as many times as they would like to fit them on the board, in spots where they don’t overlap with any other peg or shape.
- Once the students feel like they have been successful in filling their board, they can remove the pegs and shapes and try again.
Look Fors
- What strategies and mathematical reasoning do students use when placing their shapes?
- Are students rotating, translating and flipping the shapes so that they can fit them all on the board?
Extension
- Have students verbally explain to their partner where and in what position to place a specific shape.
- Give students a set number of times they are allowed to move their shapes.
- Get one student to fill their board and then use directional language to direct their classmate to fill their board the same way. Students cannot look at each other’s board until they both agree they are finished.