Grade 1 Lesson: Shapes

(6-7 year-olds)

Description of the Lesson

SWBAT recognize two-dimensional shapes in both real-life classroom contexts.
During a read-a-loud about shapes, students will be able to connect the shapes
from the book to their everyday life experiences. During a shape-sorting activity,
students will recognize real-life examples of shapes as squares, rectangles,
triangles or circles (i.e. coins, paper money). SWBAT compare and classify two-
dimensional geometric shapes based on straight or curved lines, number of sides,
number of corners, and number of same-size sides.

Information about the overall Lesson Activities

The Read-A-Loud Activity:

Before the read-a-loud, I will ask students to raise their hands and tell the
class which shapes they see in our classroom. I will be looking for students
to say things like the clock is a circle, the seat of the chair is a square,
the desk is a rectangle. I will point out additional examples of squares,
rectangles, triangles and circles in the classroom.
During the read-a-loud
o I will read to students how shapes have lines, which can be straight or
curved. Students will draw a straight and a curved line with their
fingers in the air.
o I will read how a circle has no straight sides and is round; it has a
curved line. On a whiteboard, I will draw a circle, as well as a
straight-line tangent to it in a different color. Students will visually see
the contrast between a circle with a curved line and a straight line. I
will also draw a picture of two straight sides meeting together in order
to create a corner. I will explain that a circle does have corners
because it is only one line.
o I will read how a triangle has three straight sides and three corners.
On a whiteboard, I will draw a picture of a triangle and show how a
side is when one straight line of a shape touches another straight line
 of a shape. Students will raise their hands and tell the class examples
of triangles they see in real-life.
o I will read how both a square and a rectangle have four straight
sides. I will pause and draw a picture of a square with a ruler, using
the same measurement for each side. Students will share their
observations about the sizes of the squares sides. Next, I will draw a
rectangle, making two of the sides the same as the ones for the square,
but the other two different.

The Shape-Sorting Activity:

Each student will receive his or her own bag of mixed-up shapes. The
bags of shapes will consist of squares, rectangles, triangles and circles from
classroom models, such as jumbo attribute blocks and pattern blocks, as well
as real-life examples, such as paper money and coins.
Students will use their new understanding of shapes from the read-a-loud to
solve a mix-up. I will tell them that I have bags full with shapes, but I
need help sorting them into a pile of squares, rectangles, triangles, and
circles.
Students will work with their partners to sort the shapes into different piles. I
will give each group a piece of white paper with the shape name at the top,
so that they can organize the shapes into individual groups.
As students make their piles, they have to explain why. They will have to
explain to their partner(s) why shapes are similar or different using the
vocabulary side, curved line, and corner.