Understanding the dimensions of shapes (e.g., big, thin, flat), shape names (e.g., triangle, rectangle) and shape properties (e.g., three-sided, pointy) are all part of spatial learning. Shape names like triangle, circle and cube can help to identify geometric shapes, but to really understand these, children need to explore a variety of irregular and ‘nearly’ examples. These might include triangles with unequal sides and non-triangles such as a pizza slice with a curved side.
This can be supported by a wide variety of spatial language – when distinguishing between leaves, we might describe them as ‘hand-shaped’ or ‘heart-shaped’, and use spatial language terms like ‘smooth-edged’, ‘serrated’ or ‘pointy’. When doing jigsaw puzzles, we might refer to the corner piece or straight edges to differentiate between pieces or to explain why a piece doesn't fit. Hands-on exploration, construction and puzzles provide opportunities for children to experience shape and adults to describe these using both gesture and language.
EMBRACE THE WONKY
Adults can scaffold spatial play by using spatial language and gesture, tracing shape edges and faces with fingers, and comparing shapes (including same and different). Shape sorters and shape books are useful tools for this, but it is important to remember that everyday objects also provide lots of opportunity to explore a variety of irregular shapes (research has shown that children use more spatial language when playing with irregular shapes than regular ones, and that by introducing children to irregular shapes, children can better identify the features that define a specific shape). It is also important to present shapes in a variety of orientations so that children recognise that a square is a square no matter which way round it is. For example, children (and adults) often get confused when a square is orientated with one of the corners uppermost and incorrectly name this as a ‘diamond’.
ACTIVITY IDEAS
See the Spatial Reasoning Toolkit trajectory from the ECMG website (see Further information) for examples of spatial learning through shape. There is also a poster and keyring that detail the progression, activities and spatial language we can use to support spatial learning through shape.
Babies and toddlers: At this age, children show an interest in exploring different-shaped objects through looking and feeling, including with their mouths. Exploring a variety of objects in treasure baskets will stimulate first-hand experience of their different shapes and encourage curiosity about shape properties. Include objects that are curved, flat, lumpy, smooth, long, short, spherical and with corners, e.g., different sized spoons, corks, shells, pine cones, wooden eggs, honey stirrer, rattan balls, soap dish, coaster and pebbles.
Adult role: Using these resources, adults can help children to feel the different faces, use shape words when pointing to particular features (such as ‘corner’ or ‘bumpy bits’) and offer two different shapes, exclaiming ‘oooh, you've chosen the round one’.
Use everyday contexts when out and about and during play to point out properties of objects such as big and small, long and short. Talk about and show how the shape of objects can be changed, e.g., a sponge can be squeezed or playdough can be moulded or stretched into a different shape. Comment when solving puzzles or building with shapes, focusing on spatial language, e.g., ‘Oh dear, the one with corners won't fit, we need a round one.’
Two-to three-year-olds: At this age, children respond to differences between shapes and sizes and begin to use and understand the associated informal language and gesture (e.g., flat, round, curvy, corner, giant, teeny). Children can recognise that two objects have the same shape, e.g., choose two circles for eyes when making a collage of a face. They can predict and fit pieces into inset puzzles.
Adult role: Talk about size and shape properties using informal language and gesture, e.g., ‘flat’, ‘round’, ‘curvy’, ‘corner’, ‘pointy’. Children will model this. Demonstrate choosing a particular shaped item for a purpose, e.g., a pointy carrot for a nose when making a snowman. Demonstrate comparing two objects to see if they have the same shape, e.g., two blocks or collage pieces/stickers. Talk about the shape of the pieces and the holes when fitting pieces into inset puzzles. When building, talk about the shape of the blocks you are selecting and why.
Three-to five-year-olds: At this age, children can identify several examples of the same shape (e.g., different kinds of triangles, knowing that they are all triangles) and show awareness of similarities and differences between shapes, including selecting items by their shape and size so they are appropriate. This could include choosing a puzzle piece by its shape or choosing a triangular shape for a roof in a picture. Children enjoy actively exploring shape properties, such as seeing whether hoops and cylinders roll or spin. Ramps provide opportunities for investigating which shapes roll or slide and what happens if the angle is changed to make the ramp steeper.
Adult role: Draw children's attention to shapes in the environment (e.g., shapes in nature, pictures of buildings from around the world, local landmarks) and describe them using informal language, common shape names and gestures. Ask children to construct and draw the shapes they see, as this will draw their attention to the shape properties and why these shapes were chosen. Adults can provide a commentary about shape properties that children will emulate, using spatial language to describe their creations.
NEARLY SHAPES
To explore shape properties further, discuss ‘nearly’ shapes. Many shapes are almost a regular shape or ‘like’ a shape they recognise. It is important to be precise when using shape names. Where it is ‘nearly’ a geometric shape then the adult can say: ‘This is almost a square, but it's got curvy corners.’ You can also do this by exploring the shape properties of food items (see Case study). These can be whole or cut into different shapes, e.g., sandwiches, or carrots cut into sticks or circles. Children will enjoy using books and props for traditional tales involving ordering and size, e.g., The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Goldilocks and The Enormous Turnip (see Case study), to learn about the dimensions of shapes (e.g., size, length, height). It is important to help children use specific language about size, like ‘tall’, ‘wide’ and ‘narrow’, rather than just ‘big’ and ‘little’. To encourage emerging skills in partitioning and combining shapes, discuss which shapes make other shapes, e.g., triangles making rectangles and hexagons with pattern blocks or mosaic tiles.
case study: Sharon Palfreyman, Corrie Primary and Nursery School, Tameside
Sharon used the Spatial Reasoning Toolkit to create a series of activities that encouraged children to learn about shape, dimensions and properties. She provided three different sized bowls and spoons and three different sized bears. Sharon says, ‘The children were introduced to the traditional story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by acting it out in front of their peers each day. They were encouraged to use size language as a class – Daddy Bear is the biggest and he has the largest spoon and a huge bowl, then the middle-sized bear is called Mummy Bear, etc.’
When familiar with this sequence, the children used puppets to narrate, often mimicking the language they had practised. Sharon says, ‘One of our children ended up cutting paper into three sizes to make beds for his retelling. The children discussed and compared the sizes of the bowls and which bowl belonged to Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear and Baby Bear. The children were keen to comment on who got more porridge and which bowl was bigger or smaller.’
Sharon also took the children outside to explore the different shapes of fruits and vegetables. ‘I encouraged the children to go beyond simply naming the object to thinking about their properties,’ she says. ‘I asked children, “What do you notice is the same about the two pumpkins? What do you notice is different?” The children used words like “bigger” and “smaller”, “round” and “bumpy”.’ Sharon used this opportunity to introduce lots of new spatial language: tiny, ridged, knobbly; ‘the onion is smooth’, ‘the courgette is long’, ‘the lettuce leaves are curly’.
On returning to the classroom, the children decided to draw some of the shapes, providing further opportunities to explore regular and irregular shapes and to comment on their properties. Sharon cut the vegetables in half and sliced some. ‘One child was excited by the sliced cucumber, saying “I like this now!”, giving the impression that she hadn't recognised a whole cucumber, but was familiar with eating it sliced and thus had extended her understanding of the shape properties of a cucumber.’
FURTHER INFORMATION
- The Spatial Reasoning Toolkit is available on the Early Childhood Mathematics Group (ECMG) website: https://earlymaths.org/spatial-reasoning
