Shapes kindergarteners should know

21 Creative Ways to Teach 2D Shapes in Kindergarten – KindergartenWorks

Teaching shapes to kindergarten is part of many standards-based curriculums.

When you teach 2D shapes, you're covering some basic geometry skills your kinders will build from for years to come.

Let's look at how to teach 2D shapes and dig into some 2d shape activities and games to help you cover this topic.

How to teach 2D shapes

If you're wondering how to teach shapes to kindergarten - then here are the essentials you need to cover.

1. Teach the names

Teach the names of the shapes. You could consider this vocabulary, but they need to identify the name of each shape no matter the orientation (which way the shape is turned).

You can always use a fun hook like these 2D shapes owl craft to get them started on learning the names of the shapes.

I recommend these 2D shapes kindergartners should know the best: circle, triangle, rectangle, square and hexagon.

You could easily add some free shape posters or poems to your daily routine until your kiddos know them by heart.

And this is totally my opinion - but forget teaching 2d shapes like the heart and the star (those are almost like "gimmes" in today's kindergarten).

Remember: if you use pattern blocks for any activities - don't shy away from teaching the trapezoid, rhombus and parallelogram. It's an easy way to get extra shape names with what you're already using.

2. Teach what makes a shape unique

Teach the unique characteristics of each shape. What makes the shape unique?

You can use 2D shape bingo, a hide-n-feel game or even a little mini booklet to help cover how to describe the 2D shapes.

I made a mini 2D shapes booklet to use with my guided math groups.

I like that students pick up on the basic book pattern:

• The first page asks a question based on a shape's attributes.
• The second page answers it.

But you can even create shape puppets to get them talking about what makes the shapes unique.

Consider using videos as well to teach describing 2D shapes - like how many sides and vertices each shapes has.

3. Teach what makes a 2D shape a 2D shape

Teach what makes the circle, square, triangle rectangle and hexagon all 2D shapes in a simplified fashion.

I like teaching this when I introduce 3D shapes (we compare the difference) and my students can already name and describe all of the 2D shapes for kindergarten accurately.

4. Teach shapes in the world

Teach real-life examples of shapes. Students should be able to pick out shapes in the world from the environment around them but also create real-world things by combining 2D shapes.

This quick shapes in the world video for kindergarten is perfect before going on a shape hunt. It reinforces a circle, square, and triangle in everyday items and has kids draw shapes in the air.

You'll find a few more examples of how to teach shapes in the world with some of the activities listed below.

Activities to do

Here are some fun ideas for how to teach 2D shapes with kinders.

There is a variety to pick from that can help accomplish the goals we mentioned above.

Create a lift-the-flap riddle book with your students. Have them dictate the text and cut out shapes. Let them show what they know to make a class book.

Teach how to draw the shapes - by teaching how many points to draw. I learned this tip from our district's leading preschool teacher.

Kids that came from her preschool program came in knowing how to draw shapes in kindergarten and I learned this was her secret method of teaching them! {wink}

If you're teaching 2D shapes during Christmas, create a Rudolph at the window art project using construction paper shape pieces. It sticks to basic shapes. I love the finished product.

You could also use this free shape reindeer card activity and adapt it a bit since it was designed for first grade.

Take the shape your class is having the most difficulty with and let them get creative! Have them turn the shape into something in our world simply by adding details.

Use whatever shape manipulatives you have and create 2D shape scenes or real-world things. Snap photos with your phone and print them as example cards.

Students can try to recreate yours or build their own 2D shape real-world things.

If you only have pattern blocks, try to add in some circles, squares, and rectangles made out of craft foam from the dollar tree.

Speaking of making your own 2D shape manipulatives - this teaching 2D shapes dinosaur activity is a perfect example. Cut your own shapes and let your students create.

Grab toothpicks and marshmallows (or playdough) with these printable build a 2D shape cards. Students can focus on the number of vertices each shape has.

Play 2D shapes games

Play games that involve looking at shapes in different ways.

Play this little roll-a-shape 2D shapes in the world game. It's perfect for beginning kindergarten.

It's simple to play and students can do it independently. They roll a die, say the shape's name and color or trace a matching shape in the picture.

This shapes in the world printable board game is a simple way to play in small numbers.

If you just need something that works on naming and identifying - then this quick shape game is what you're looking for. Add a pencil and paper clip as a makeshift spinner.

I've found a way to turn bingo into a super-effective way to work on describing shapes in kindergarten. So check out this describing 2D shapes bingo game that is free.

It's a classic game that's easy to share with parent volunteers too since they usually already know basic bingo rules.

Here's an alternate naming shapes game that is styled after chutes and ladders. I think they'd like this format.

Go on a shape hunt around the classroom simply by following the directions in this secret agent shapes detective video.

Play what's hiding under the rug. This is the easiest game to teach and play with kindergarten. I love turning it over to pairs of students to play in our small group sessions so I can listen in on how accurately they are describing 2D shapes.

It's an ideal way to informally assess how well students are doing on this skill.

Let students each play at their own pace and graph their results with this 2D shapes game.

Find the shapes hidden in these landscapes to bring back color to the black-and-white pictures. This interactive, online shapes game reminds me of the old school Highlights for Kids magazines {wink}

Let's wrap it up

There you have the basics of how to teach 2D shapes and creative activities, games, and videos for teaching 2D shapes in kindergarten.

I hope you've found exactly what you need to complete your lesson plans. It's my goal to help you organize, think and teach your best.

You may also enjoy this short list of 2D shapes videos.

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

More Math in Kindergarten

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• Monster Numbers – Easy Tools to Teach 0-10
• Making 5 Fluency Ideas and Games

Fun and Engaging 2D Shape Activities

One of the very first math lessons we teach in kindergarten is two-dimensional shapes! There are so many ways you can introduce shapes while also engaging your students in fun, hands-on activities. I think one of my favorite things about teaching shapes is that the students don’t even realize they are learning! They get to build, sort, and manipulate shapes in many ways, which leads to high engagement. Read on for my favorite kindergarten-approved 2D shape activities that your students will love!

Activities for Teaching 2D Shapes

Since shapes are all around us, chances are that many of our students will enter kindergarten with a basic knowledge of shape names. It also doesn’t take too long to fill in the missing shape names that our students haven’t quite mastered. After that, the goal is for our students to describe, build, and even manipulate two-dimensional shapes. This is where some additional shape practice activities can come in handy!

Introducing Shape Names and Attributes

The first step in teaching students shapes is to make sure they know all of the 2D shape names and their unique attributes. I have found that all students benefit from an introduction (or reintroduction) to the shape names and attributes before we move on to other 2D shape activities.

I love introducing and reviewing shapes with these 2D Shapes Poems! These poems are catchy and help students learn about each shape’s attributes as well as relate them to real-world objects that they already know. Before you know it, your students will look at a stop sign and say, “Hey, that’s an octagon!” 🙂 #proudteachermoment

I introduce the shapes one at a time which prevents overwhelm and allows the students to focus on that shape and its unique attributes. We practice one shape each day until all of them have been added to our shape wall!

Identifying and Describing Shapes

After plenty of time has been spent pronouncing the shape names and discussing the shape attributes, it is time for students to put that knowledge into practice. They are now ready to identify shapes in different contexts and describe them in their own words! As with any new concept, it’s important to keep young learners engaged by using a variety of activities when practicing the same skill multiple times, such as identifying and describing shapes.

Shape Bingo is a fun way to add repetition to your 2D shape practice because students will want to play this game over and over again! I love to play this game in small groups, so we can quickly review the shape names and attributes as we draw each card. For an added challenge, you could pull a card and keep it hidden from the students. Then, give them clues about the shape by describing its unique attributes so that the students can guess the correct shape before placing their bingo markers.

I also love to encourage students to identify shapes in the world around them. One way to practice this skill is with a shape sort, where students can identify and sort a variety of real-world objects based on shape. This 2D shape sort is a very fun center activity that gets students excited to look for shapes all around them. It’s so fun to hear students point out the shapes they see as they walk down the hall!

Here are several more 2D shape activity ideas that will keep your students engaged as they practice identifying and describing shapes in multiple ways:

• Play a shape game where students draw a shape out of a bucket and say its name and whether it has curved or straight lines
• Play “I Spy” where students must find real-world objects that match a specific shape
• Go outside on a nature hunt and see what you can find in each shape
• Do a shape show-and-tell

Making Shapes

After students have a good understanding of shape names and their attributes, they are ready to start building shapes on their own! There are many ways to provide individualized opportunities for shape building, based on the fine motor skills of your students. Some students might form shapes using craft sticks while other students might be ready to trace shapes with a highlighter.

In the kindergarten classroom, it’s important to include fine motor practice anywhere we can. Two-dimensional shape building practice is the perfect time to strengthen hand-eye coordination and writing skills! Here are some additional ways to practice forming and writing shapes:

• Practice drawing shapes in the air
• Highlight shapes
• Trace shapes with a writing utensil
• Practice making shapes with sensory materials, such as in sensory trays filled with beads, cereal, rice, etc.
• Trace over shapes with little cars or something similar
• Form shapes with playdough (Check out this playdough mat freebie)
• Form shapes with craft supplies, such as pom-poms, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, etc.

Working With Shapes

Once students have had plenty of time to form shapes using their knowledge of shape names and attributes, they’re ready for the next step: Working with shapes.

When students are given plenty of opportunities to manipulate and work with shapes in various ways, it deepens their understanding of two-dimensional shapes and prepares them for future math concepts.

One of my favorite 2D shape activities is this shape-building activity, where students can see the relationship between shapes as they use pattern blocks to create a larger shape. I love how this activity encourages students to see how shapes are related to each other.

Here are some of my other favorite ways to help students build on their budding knowledge of 2D shapes:

• Sort shapes by attributes, size, color, etc.
• Build with shapes
• See what they can build using only one shape
• Do art projects using a variety of shapes
• Build their name with shapes
• Make a shape book

Using 2D Shape Activities for Centers

Many of the activities I mentioned above would be perfect for math centers in your kindergarten classroom. In fact, I have compiled my ten favorites into a collection of 2D Shapes Centers and Activities! These activities include practice opportunities for 12 different two-dimensional shapes. These shape centers are perfect for kindergarten, Pre-K, and preschool!

2D Shapes Centers and Activities

$5.00

These 2D shapes centers and activities are full of learning and fun for your preschool and kindergarten students. You can use these activities as you introduce the 2D shapes to your class, or spread them out throughout the year in your math centers. Some centers are also in black and white to be printed on colored paper.

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Save These 2D Shape Activities

Be sure to save this post to your favorite classroom board on Pinterest so that you can refer back to these ideas later!

According to the website of the administration of Pyatigorsk, children dressed as infantrymen, tankers, pilots, sailors, gunners and nurses marched across the square near the Eternal Flame. In total, about 500 kindergarteners took part in the parade.

Kindergarten parades look like a circus show

The parade caused mixed reactions. While some parents posted enthusiastic posts on social networks with photos of their children in military uniforms, others criticized the local administration for using children in events for show.

Sofia Popova from Pyatigorsk did not allow the child to participate in the parade. According to her, such events blur the meaning of victory. “Children do not understand the meaning of the event they are participating in. When they learn a poem about the war, they are at least explained the meaning of the words, they are told stories. When preparing for the parade, attention is paid only to external paraphernalia,” says a resident of Pyatigorsk. She adds that children should be taught about various aspects of the war, then such activities will make sense. It must be explained that war is always associated with human casualties. “Now the parades of kindergarteners look like a circus show, where the mayor of the city is present and clapping his hands,” says Popova.

Nadezhda, whose child participated in the event, on the contrary, believes that without such parades, children will not be able to learn the history of their country. She said that all the preparations for the event took place in kindergarten. There, the child was told about the war and why Victory Day is considered an important holiday in Russia. “In the family, we didn’t talk much about the war. Our child already knows that Nazi Germany attacked Russia, and our ancestors had to defend themselves. Unfortunately, children today form an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis day as a holiday, and not about some an important event in the history of our country," says Nadezhda. This is primarily due to the fact that today there are almost no people left who survived the Great Patriotic War and can talk about it, a resident of Pyatigorsk believes.

Those who organize such events - methodologists and kindergarten leaders - predictably insist that children's parades are very useful for "patriotic education."

In Chekhov, near Moscow, preparations began for the kindergarten parade at the end of February. According to the educational methodologist Olga Guskova , this procession in the city was held in the form of a competition. It was attended by 16 teams, consisting of pupils of senior and preparatory groups.

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We came up with various nominations, for example: "peaceful sky", "forward to victory"

"We hope that thanks to such an unobtrusive reminder, children will better understand what war is and what kind of holiday is celebrated in Russia on May 9 Through such events, we instill in children a sense of patriotism and pride in their homeland,” Guskova adds.

There are no winners or losers in the contest. Each kindergarten eventually wins in a certain category, says another methodologist Olesya Klimantseva . "It is impossible to single out one winner among preschool children, so we came up with various nominations, for example: "peaceful sky", "forward to victory", "glorious sons of the fatherland". We decide in advance which team will win in which nomination, and we prepare cups for everyone participants," explains Klimantseva.

"We have never encountered the fact that parents are against the participation of children in the parade. Our costumes contain only elements of military uniforms, but if this seems inappropriate to parents, no one will force them. This is not a tribute to fashion, but a tribute," says Klimantsev.

In the Stavropol Territory, parents also supported the idea of ​​a parade for preschoolers, says Irina, director of the Semitsvetik kindergarten in the village of Krasnogvardeyskoye. According to her, the event has been held for the second year. This year, all groups agreed to participate, except for the nursery.

"Patriotic education is not only an important aspect in preparation for May 9, it is something that is present in the educational process every day. Children know about the war: they watch patriotic films, make crafts. Even the smallest pupils were explained what war is , showed pictures and talked about different types of troops. Only after that the guys decided what kind of troops they would wear," says Irina.

Similar events on the eve of Victory Day were also held in Rostov-on-Don and Sevastopol. According to Kommersant, such a parade has been held in Rostov-on-Don on an ongoing basis for several years in a row.

Military uniform is an attribute of death

But there is another way of looking at the participation of children in militaristic holidays. Maria Zelenova , crisis and clinical psychologist of the ANO BO "Zhuravlik", believes that the participation of children in the parades timed to coincide with Victory Day is associated with "romanticization and embellishment of the war. "

- It's sad that children are drawn into this format of victory celebrations, because war is death first of all: graves, cripples, ruined lives. People do not choose war of their own free will, it is an involuntary necessity. It is hardly worth teaching children to the ideologically imposed position that war is good, and ancestors should be honored by following their path. In fact, not a single person who went through the war wants to see his descendants in the same conditions against which he fought. It is better to celebrate all the same life, victory and the end of the war. And in no case should you do it in military uniform, which is an attribute of death. It is very important that children realize this, because war is blood and pain, not a holiday,” says Zelenova.

At the same time, the psychologist is sure that the topic of war should not be taboo in the family. Children must be told about the various aspects of the war, the price of victory. The best way to do this is through personal stories that are in almost every Russian family. “Children need to be told what their ancestors did when the war ended. It is necessary to explain that relatives fought so that there would be no more war. Thus, the memory of their ancestors will be preserved, and children will learn to save life and fight for it,” Zelenova clarifies.

According to Natalia Zorka, leading researcher at the Department of Socio-Political Research at the analytical center "Levada Center" , the tendency to use children for political purposes is not new to authoritarian regimes. Previously, only young people were forced to participate in parades, now children are also included in this process: