How do you build spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving skills while doing something that is fun? With tangrams! In honor of Chinese New Year, this lesson introduces your students to the Chinese puzzle of tangrams.

Students will love composing and decomposing two-dimensional shapes using tangram puzzle pieces. Use this plan alone or to frontload key vocabulary and concepts taught in the lesson plan Know Your Shapes.

2D shapes are all around us! In this lesson students will explore the properties of four different shapes—triangles, circles, rectangles, and squares! They will learn that they can find these shapes anywhere in the world around us.

Use this lesson to introduce the concepts of capacity and volume with young learners. This hands on lesson can be used as a scaffolded pre-lesson to Capacity Comparison.

Look all around! We can find 2D shapes inside 3D shapes wherever we go! In this lesson, students will sort shapes and recognize the 2D components of common 3D shapes.

This is a fun lesson for your students to learn shapes while playing an engaging matching game. Your students will also get to practice their fine motor skills in this lesson.

Geometry is a core of mathematics in the early years. Help students recognize and draw shapes given specific attributes such as the number of corners and sides. This lesson can be a stand-alone activity of paired with 2-D Shapes!

With this activity, students will identify shapes, build 3-D shapes, and practice describing shapes with a partner.

In this lesson, your students will become familiar with shapes by identifying them in real life. Your students will love identifying how many sides shapes have by drawing and counting them!

Your students will solve and create shape riddles while practicing their knowledge of shape attributes.

Students will explore geometric shapes by creating a painting of a trapezoid.

Students will love composing shapes using tangrams in this hands-on lesson! Use this plan alone or as a support lesson plan for the Tangrams: An Ancient Chinese Puzzle lesson plan.

Sorting takes on a new challenge for students in this activity which engages their critical thinking skills. As students determine defining attributes, they’ll figure out what makes a shape a shape!

Students will use their hands to mold clay into shapes, then divide those shapes into equal and unequal quarters.