Greedy Triangle Crafts
The Greedy Triangle, by Marilyn Burns, is a book aimed at young children to teach geometric shapes. The book tells the story of a triangle who wishes to no longer be a triangle. He visits a shapeshifter who grants him his wish by transforming the triangle into a different shape with the addition of an angle. The triangle, however, is dissatisfied with his new shape. The shapeshifter continues to add another side and another until, eventually, the triangle becomes a circle. After reading the book, children can enjoy a variety of activities to extend the lessons taught in the story.
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Shape Hunt
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On the lesson planning website ReadWriteThink, elementary school teacher Lisa Cranston shares this lesson she uses in her classroom: Divide a piece of paper into four parts, either by folding the paper in quarters or simply drawing a horizontal and a vertical line on the paper. Pick four different shapes and write the name of each shape in each of the four squares. Next, have children walk around their classroom, home, or even neighborhood, and look for objects that are the shapes they have written on their paper. When they find an object that is one of their four shapes, they should draw a picture of that object in the correctly labeled square.
Create a Shape Picture
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Perfect for an art class, math class, or even the home setting, this activity allows children to create a picture using shapes. Older kids can cut different geometric shapes out of paper while younger children can be given precut shapes. Next, give each child a piece of blank paper and some glue. Have him use the shapes to create a picture. Once the picture of finalized, glue the shapes in place.
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Form Polygons
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Teachers Christina Myren and Jane Traut enjoy having their students create different polygons and discussing similarities and differences among each. They have students use elastic bands of about 1 ½ yards long and tied into circles. While reading The Greedy Triangle, students use the elastic to form the various shapes in the book. Myren and Traut recommend stopping after each polygon is formed and having students discuss how each one is similar to or different from the others.
Polygon Picture Glossary
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Myren and Traut also have students create a mini book to share what they have learned about geometric shapes. Using a single piece of paper, students create eight small pages and draw a different polygon on each page. Students color the shape and write a brief description of the shape on each page. The mini books can then be used as study aids or displayed around the classroom.
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References
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