Plane and Solid Geometry
Activity Set 3
Trainer Guide
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3 Pri_Geo_03_TG
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
NGSSS K.G.2.3~K.G.2.5
NGSSS 1.G.3.1
Can You Find?
In this activity, participants explore solids, or
3-dimensional shapes, through their tactile sense.
MATERIALS
• Transparency/Page: Can You Find?
• Transparency/Page: Can You Find? Vocabulary Review
• Transparency/Page: Can You Find? Clues
• a feely bag for each group
• table blocks (2 sets of various-sized cones, prisms,
cylinders, cubes, and pyramids for each bag)
VOCABULARY
• cone
• prism
• cylinder
• cube
• pyramid
• face
• edge
• vertex
TIME:
15 minutes
INTRODUCE
• Explain that there are certain geometric “tools”
which are appropriate for studying solid geometry.
These tools include:
table blocks
geometric blocks
everyday items (e.g., cereal boxes, cans, Legos,
linking cups, straws, play clay, and Popsicle sticks)
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
1
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
• Display Transparency: Can You Find?.
Can You Find?
cylinder
cube
hexagonal prism
trapezoidal prism
triangular prism
rectangular prism
sphere
cone
• Review the names of the geometric solids and
remind participants that using appropriate
vocabulary helps K–2 students develop a solid
foundation in geometry.
• Point to one solid and ask a volunteer to put his or
her hand in a feely bag of blocks, without looking in
the bag, to find a shape that feels like the one on the
transparency that you selected.
• Repeat, identifying another solid, and asking
a volunteer to find it in the bag.
McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Plane and Solid Geometry–activity Set #3
Trans_K2_G_03
Transparency: Can You Find?
• Display Transparency: Can You Find?
Vocabulary Review.
• Explain that by the end of second grade, students
are expected to describe and classify solids by the
shape and number of faces, edges, and vertices.
• Review the vocabulary words edge, face, and
vertex and their definitions. Point out the location
of each geometric term on the cube pictured in
the transparency.
• Ask volunteers to count the number of faces on the
cube and describe the face shape. (6, square faces)
Can You Find?
vocabulary review
vertex
edge
face
edge
A line segment formed by the intersection
of 2 faces of a solid figure.
face
The plane side of a solid shape.
TEACHING TIP: Discuss how counting unseen faces, edges,
and vertices will be very difficult for K–2 students. Have
K–2 students manipulate, touch, turn, and hold solid shapes
when they count these geometric elements.
vertex A point formed by 2 sides of a plane polygon or a
point formed by 3 or more edges of a solid figure.
How many faces in a cube?
• Ask volunteers to count the number of edges on
a cube. (12)
How many edges in a cube?
How many vertices in a cube?
McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Plane and Solid Geometry–activity Set #3
Transparency: Can You Find?
Vocabulary Review
Trans_K2_G_03
• Ask volunteers to count the number of vertices
on a cube. (8)
• Explain that participants will play a game of
Can You Find? based on using their senses
of touch to feel for the descriptive clues. Some
may include counting the number of faces,
edges, and/or vertices of the geometric solids.
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
2
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
DISCUSS AND DO
• Explain that participants will form groups
of 4 for this activity.
• Pass out feely bags filled with table blocks
(1 bag for each group).
• Explain that in the game, Can You Find?, you will
provide a clue and one member of the group will
pull out a block or blocks, without looking in the
bag, that match the description of the clue. Add
that the blocks should go back into the bag after
each clue and that the bag will be passed to the
next member in the group.
• Display Transparency: Can You Find? Clues. Ask
participants with the feely bag, “Can you find?”:
Can You Find?
Clues
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Kindergarten clue: two blocks that are the same
Kindergarten clue: the biggest block
Kindergarten clue: the smallest block
Kindergarten clue: a block that is like a ball
Grade 1 clue: a block that is curved and has
a sharp point
clue: two blocks that are the same.
clue: the biggest block
clue: the smallest block
clue: a block that is like a ball (sphere)
Grade 1 clue: a block that is round
Grade 1 clue: a block that is curved and has
a sharp point (cone)
Grade 1 clue: a block that is round (sphere)
Grade 1 clue: a block that is round and flat
(cylinder)
Grade 1 clue: a block that has only square
faces (cube)
Grade 2 clue: a rectangular prism
Grade 2 clue: a triangular prism
Grade 2 clue: a block that has no edges (sphere)
Grade 2 clue: a block that has 6 square faces (cube)
Grade 1 clue: a block that is round and flat
Grade 1 clue: a block that has only square faces
Grade 2 clue: a rectangular prism
Grade 2 clue: a triangular prism
Grade 2 clue: a block that has no edges
Grade 2 clue: a block that has 6 square faces
McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Plane and Solid Geometry–activity Set #3
Trans_K2_G_03
Transparency: Can You Find? Clues
• Have participants count the faces, edges, and/or
vertices of a few of the shapes (e.g., the rectangular
prism and triangular prism) before returning the
blocks to the feely bag.
Note: If time permits: Have groups play on their own,
making up Can You Find? questions that would be
appropriate for K–2 students.
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
3
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
CONCLUDE
• Have participants empty the bags onto a table
and sort the solids into attribute groups.
• Ask a volunteer from each group to briefly
summarize its attribute groups.
• Ask participants to suggest which type of block a cube
is. (Cubes are a special type of rectangular prism.)
• Explain that helping students recognize and identify
prism shapes will help them in the upper grades to
understand volume and the formulas for volume.
• Motivate participants to consider how the certainties
of geometric principles have led to changes in man’s
understanding of the world, by sharing the following
brief stories:
Columbus, it is fabled, deduced the spherical shape
of Earth by watching the top of the sails of a ship
come up over the horizon, while observing the
top of the wings of a butterfly emerge as it walked
around the orange that he was holding in his hand.
Edwin Hubble redefined a new galaxy through the
extrapolation of a geometric principle that another
scientist, Shapely, had used to gauge the size of the
Milky Way. With Hubble’s study and observations
of the stars through photo plates from many years
earlier, he was able to prove that there are tens of
billions of galaxies. The Milky Way is the home
galaxy of Earth, whirling in space amid millions
of other galaxies.
End of Can You Find?
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
4
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
Hidden Shapes
In this activity, participants work in pairs with pattern
blocks to create shapes described by their partners.
MATERIALS
• Transparency/Page: Hidden Shapes
• pattern blocks (1 bucket for every 20 participants)
• overhead pattern blocks (hexagon, trapezoid,
triangle, rhombus, square)
• file folders (1 per pair of participants)
• blank transparency
VOCABULARY
• hexagon
• triangle
• rhombus
• trapezoid
• square
TIME:
20 minutes
INTRODUCE
Explain to participants that they will take turns using
pattern blocks to create hidden shapes and that then
they will describe these shapes for partners to recreate.
• Display on a blank transparency each of the pattern
blocks (overhead blocks) and review the names for
each piece.
hexagon
trapezoid
triangle
rhombus
square
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
5
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
• Explain to participants that they will create their
shapes, using these pattern-block pieces.
Hidden Shapes
Directions
Use the file folder provided to create a wall between
you and your partner.
Partner 1 should:
• create a shape by using five or six pattern blocks
• name the blocks that Partner 2 will need to create
the shape
• describe the shape to Partner 2 by using the appropriate
directional and shape words
Partner 2 should:
• take out the blocks named by Partner 1
• create the shape described by Partner 1
• Place on a blank transparency, at random, 1 square,
2 triangles, and 1 hexagon (overhead blocks).
• Ask a volunteer to come up and create a shape that
you will describe.
• Read the following directions to the volunteer.
Both partners should compare the 2 shapes to determine
if they are the same.
Place the square in the center of the transparency.
Place the hexagon with one side fitting against
Then, Partner 1 should switch roles with Partner 2,
creating and describing a shape for Partner 1 to recreate.
If time permits, partners may create and describe
more complex shapes.
McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Plane and Solid Geometry–activity Set #3
the bottom of the square.
Trans_K2_G_03
Place 1 triangle fitting against the left side of
Transparency: Hidden Shapes
the square.
Place 1 triangle fitting against the right side of
the square.
• Have participants verify that the volunteer produced
the shape that you have described.
• Display Transparency: Hidden Shapes and go over the
steps with participants, demonstrating how to create
a wall with the file folder. (Create an inverted V.)
TEACHING TIP: Create in advance a plastic bag of pattern
blocks for each pair of participants. Each bag should include
approximately 25–30 blocks, including several of each shape.
DISCUSS AND DO
• Have participants pair off.
• Have 1 participant from each pair pick up 1 plastic
bag of pattern blocks and 1 file folder.
• Give pairs 10–12 minutes to take turns creating
and reproducing shapes.
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
6
plane and solid geometry
Activity Set #3
CONCLUDE
• Call participants together.
• Ask participants if they were able to reproduce their
partners’ shapes by listening to the shape descriptions.
• Ask what difficulties, if any, they encountered when
reproducing the shapes. Possible answers include:
unclear directional words
misnamed shapes
• Explain to participants that this is a good activity
for ELL students and an entertaining way to review
directional and geometric vocabulary.
• Ask participants how they might modify the activity
for various grade levels.
End of Hidden Shapes
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3
Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_TG
7
Can You Find?
cylinder
cube
hexagonal prism
trapezoidal prism
triangular prism
rectangular prism
sphere
cone
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3 Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_PM
Can You Find?
Vocabulary Review
vertex
edge
face
edgeA line segment formed by the intersection
of 2 faces of a solid figure.
face
The plane side of a solid shape.
vertex A point formed by 2 sides of a plane polygon or a point formed by 3 or more edges of a solid figure.
How many faces in a cube?
How many edges in a cube?
How many vertices in a cube?
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3 Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_PM
Can You Find?
Clues
Kindergarten clue: two blocks that are the same
Kindergarten clue: the biggest block
Kindergarten clue: the smallest block
Kindergarten clue: a block that is like a ball
Grade 1 clue: a block that is curved and has
a sharp point
Grade 1 clue: a block that is round
Grade 1 clue: a block that is round and flat
Grade 1 clue: a block that has only square faces
Grade 2 clue: a rectangular prism
Grade 2 clue: a triangular prism
Grade 2 clue: a block that has no edges
Grade 2 clue: a block that has 6 square faces
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3 Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_PM
Hidden Shapes
Directions
Use the file folder provided to create a wall between
you and your partner.
Partner 1 should:
• create a shape by using five or six pattern blocks
• name the blocks that Partner 2 will need to create
the shape
• describe the shape to Partner 2 by using the appropriate directional and shape words
Partner 2 should:
• take out the blocks named by Partner 1
• create the shape described by Partner 1
Both partners should compare the 2 shapes to determine
if they are the same.
Then, Partner 1 should switch roles with Partner 2,
creating and describing a shape for Partner 1 to recreate.
If time permits, partners may create and describe
more complex shapes.
Plane and Solid Geometry—Activity Set 3 Copyright© by the McGraw-Hill Companies—McGraw-Hill Professional Development
Pri_Geo_03_PM