Louisiana State Museum
Where Do We Find
Shapes?
PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Students will observe a demonstration of each shape.
Each student will be given a booklet with pictures of
artifacts in the museum containing different shapes.
The students will take a tour through the Louisiana
State Museum to locate and identify these artifacts.
The students will identify the shape in each artifact.
Students will trace the shape identified in each
artifact. The students will investigate each shape and
explain the purpose or function of the shape in the
artifact. The students will be divided into groups of
two to three students per group and each group will
orally report on one of the artifacts discovered in the
museum. The students will identify the shape that
was discovered in the artifact and explain the function
of the shape in the artifact. The students will then
develop a fictional story with the shapes being
characters in the story. In creating the story, students
will use the knowledge gained from their observations
to summarize the description and function of each
shape. Each student will read their story or perform a
skit based on their story for the class.
STUDENT LEARNING:
-work independently
A crosscurricular
lesson linked
to the
common core
state
standards.
STANDARDS:
Math PK-CM-G1, PK-CMG2, PK-CM-D1, PK-CM-D2,
K.G.1, 2, 3,4,5,6
-work collaboratively
1. G 1, 2
Science
-identify basic flat shapes
PK-CS.1, PK-CS-P3
K.G.1, 2, 3,4,5,6
-identify 3-D shapes
1. G.1, 2, 3
English Language Arts
-develop a fictional story
PK-LL-L1, PK-LL-L2, PK-LLL4, PK-LL-S1, PK-LL-S2, PKLL-S3
-locating, identifying, and
tracing shapes
RI.K.1,2,7,8,9, RF.K.1,
W.K.2,3,5,,6,8,
SL.K.1,2,3,5,6, L.K.1,25,6
-compare and contrast
shapes
INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS:
RSL-1.1,2,3,6,7,9, RSITGRADING
1.1,2,34,7,RSF-1.4,WSWe suggest you
grade on SLthe ability to
1.2,3,5,6,7,8,
recognize
basic shapes and
1.1,2,3,4,5,6,
Math – recognize, describe, and name shapes and analyze,
-tessellate shapes
compare, create, and compose shapes
understand functions of shapes as well
as writingLS-1.1,
style 2,
and
5, 6grammar,
Writing – write an informative/explanatory narrative in the form
presentation, and ability to identify
of a short fiction story
key ideas and details
-application of knowledge
MATERIALS
and observation
Speaking and Listening – present a story orally and listen to
Materials vary with each activity: ice
other stories
cream cones, dice, candle, Pringles
chip can, ball, etc., food products such
Language – demonstrate command of the conventions -using
of and applying as chips, cereal, crackers, etc. in the
knowledge
basic shapes, assortment of small
Standard English grammar
foam shapes, tag board shapes, clip
type clothespins, black marker,
Reading – identify key ideas and details
masking tape, magazines, scissors,
glue, construction paper, brown paper
bags
Science – Describe objects by their physical properties and
explore the physical world using five senses
L E AR N I N G M O D U L E :
Pre-Visit Activities prepare your students for a rewarding
Museum visit. Before your visit, introduce your students to shapes.
During your visit to the Capitol Park Museum, the students will
search for the different shapes in artifacts found in the galleries. The
students will be given a Shapes Booklet with memory cards of
artifacts with the shape outline marked on the artifact.
Words to Know
Teacher Notes: To reinforce shapes with your students
http://www.primarygame.com/storybooks/sammy/start.htm
,http://jumpstart.com/teachers/lesson-plans/grade-based-lessonplans, www.mensaForkids.org, and Dicoveryeducation.com are
suggested websites to use.
CREATE A SHAPE MUSEUM
Square
Circle
Rectangle
Triangle
Rhombus
Cube
Cylinder
Cone
Sphere
Trapezoid
Rectangular Prism
As a suggestion, introduce a shape a week to the children. Have the
children bring examples from home of the shape of the week every week. Collect the shapes
from the children each week and place them on a table in the classroom forming a Shape
Museum. After introducing all the shapes, give the children a ticket to the Shape Museum and
have a recording sheet where they draw or write the objects in each category.
All the activities below can be used with basic flat shapes as well as 3-D shapes. At the end of
each week have the children construct a Shape Man using the shape of the week. See Activity 4
for instructions. (Learningwithmrsparker.blogspot.com/) has many good activities for teaching 3D shapes.
Activity 1: Shape Sorting Circle
Materials Required: Ice cream cones, any 3D
materials children bring from home such as a
cereal box , a Pringles chip can, dice, candle,
ball, etc
Activity Time: 25-35 min
Concepts Taught: Introducing the concept of 3D
shapes
Activity Procedure
This is a good starting point for teachers
who are just introducing 3D shapes.
Definition: Circle
A circle is a shape with all points the
same distance from its center. Real world
examples: wheel, dinner plate, and the
surface of a coin.
Ask students to bring any 3D shapes they may have at home, prior to conducting the
lesson.
Students sit in a circle; place all materials in the middle of the carpet. Ask students to sort
the objects according shape, size, color etc.
Introduce the correct terminology; this ball shape is now called a sphere.
Draw cartoon 3D shapes on paper and all decide what the name will be such as Sadie the
Sphere Cindy the Cylinder. List the properties of the objects; the faces, the vertices or
corners, etc.
Ask students to write a sentence about each shape. Example: The ball is a sphere shape.
Continue with symmetry etc.
______________________________________________________________________________
Activity 2: Shape Party
Materials: Food products such as chips, cereal, and
crackers in the shapes of circles, squares,
rectangles, triangles, cones, cubes, etc. Example:
Saltine cracker for a circle and a Doritos for a
triangle and paper plates.
Definition: Square
A square is a shape having all four
sides of equal length. Real world
examples: square block, saltine
cracker, and square book.
Activity Procedure
Draw the shapes you are studying on the
board for students to view.
Students will have a Shape Party. Divide
the food shapes into individual containers
placing all the squares in one container, all
the circles in one container, etc.
Give each student a paper plate with all the food shapes on the plate.
Give each child a sheet of paper (these can be printed from the school printing machine)
drawing each shape with a space below each shape.
The children will sort the food shapes from their plates into the proper spaces. Ask them
to feel the shape before eating it.
______________________________________________________________________________
Activity 3: Shape Sort
Materials: Small foam shapes cut from foam
board. These can be purchased from craft
stores as a large container of various shapes.
Definition: Triangle
A triangle is a shape having three sides.
Real world examples: Yield sign.
Activity Procedure
Place a large container on a table containing all the shapes. Place several containers
around the large container (prepare a container for each shape).
The children will sort the different shapes into the appropriate containers. When they
complete the task, all the various shapes will be placed back into the large container for
the next child to sort.
Demonstrate how to tessellate the shapes and have the children make their own
tessellations.
____________________________________________________________________
Activity 4: Shape Men
Materials: Tag board in several different colors (a
color for each shape), clip type clothespins, a black
marker.
Definition: Rectangle
A rectangle is a four sided shape that
has opposite sides that are parallel and
of equal length.
Activity Procedure
Cut each shape from a different color of tag
board. Examples would be red for circles,
green for squares, yellow for triangles, etc.
Draw a simple face on each shape making a shape man.
Give each child the shape man and instruct the child to clip two clothes pins on the
bottom of the shape man for legs.
Each week the children will take their shape man home to form a collection of shape
people with each shape represented.
________________________________________________________________________
Activity 5: Pass the Shapes
Materials: Shapes (made from large cutouts of cardboard and sandpaper).
Activity Procedure
Pass the shapes to each child in the class. Have the child look at each shape and feel each
shape with eyes open and with eyes closed. The child will name the shape as the child
looks and feels the shape.
___________________________________________________________________
Activity 6: Moving with Shapes
Materials: Masking tape or painters tape
Activity Procedure:
Use pieces of the tape to make large outlines on the floor of a circle, square, etc.
Ask the child to name the shape as the child walks around each shape.
Have the children take turns walking or crawling around the edge of the shape.
Teacher will call out the name of a shape and then name a child to stand in the shape.
_________________________________________________________________________
Activity 7: Shape Book
Materials: Books, magazines, scissors, glue sticks, construction paper
Ask the students to look through the books and cut out pictures of all the different
shapes they find.
Have the students glue the pictures in a book made from stapled or tied construction
paper making a class book of shapes.
Post-Visit Activities
Use our post-visit acitivites to reinforce what your students learned during their visit to Capitol
Park Museum.
Activity: Guessing Bags
Materials: brown paper bags, basic solid shapes or basic flat shapes
Activity Procedure:
Identify the basic flat shapes or 3D shapes and record them on the Smartboard to
use as a reference.
Number each bag (one bag for each shape).
Place a one or more of the same shape in each numbered bag.
Give each child a recording sheet listing all the shapes that are in the bags.
Pass the bags around to each child and instruct the child to reach their hand into
each numbered bag, feel the shape in the bag, and record the shape on their
recording sheet.
Shapes
GUESSING BAG
Name________________________
I guessed what shape was in the bag by feeling.
1.
__________________________________
2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________
4. __________________________________
5. __________________________________
6. __________________________________
7. __________________________________
8. __________________________________
Writing in the Museum
Four-Square Writing: Shapes
Name__________________
Directions: Use the four square writing method to write a story with the main character being a
square that has a problem…he does not want to be a square!
Square One
Square Two
The character is a square. Describe the
square.
What is the name of the square?
How many sides does it have?
How many right angles does it
have?
Are the sides equal?
What color eyes does it have?
What does it like to do?
Is it big or little?
Describe where your square lives (an
example would be a square house).
What kind of trees are nearby? Is there
a pond, bayou, or river nearby?
Story Starter:
____________ the square lived in a
___________. There were
Story Starter:
Once upon a time there was a square
named ________. He/she had _______
(number of sides, etc.) He/she liked to
Square Three
Square Four
Continue with the problem that the
square does not want to be square.
The square will become a circle, but
what can happen to make the square
decide not to be a circle? Example:
the circle cannot stop rolling. So he/she
becomes a triangle, but what could
happen to make the square decide not
to be a triangle. So he/she becomes a
rectangle, but what could happen to
make the square just want to be a
square once more?
Conclude the story with how the square
solved the problem and returned to
being a square. Could a shape fairy
use her magic wand to return him/her
to a square? What lesson could be
learned from wanting to be something
other than what you are? Use an
exclamation sentence to end the story.
Example: (“The square thought that it
was great just being a square!”)
Story Starter:
One day
Story Starter:
Finally,
Where Do We Find Shapes?
Rhombus
Rectangle
Circle
Triangle
Rectangle
Oval
Oval
Circle
Octagon
Trapezoid
Square
Where Do We Find
Shapes?
Capitol Park Museum Shape Hunt
Directions: Use your marker to outline the circle.
Circle
A circle is a curved line surrounding a
center point, every point of the line being an equal distance from the
center point.
Can you identify the circles in these artifacts?
Trace the circles that you see in these artifacts.
Investigate: How are circles used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the circles in the above artifacts.
Give a reason for the use of the circle in one of the artifacts.
Exhibit Name
Use the chart to record your findings.
Give a reason for using a circle in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the square.
Square
A square is a shape having all four sides of
equal length.
Can you identify the squares in these artifacts?
Investigate: How are squares used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the squares in the above artifacts.
Give a reason for the use of the square in one of the artifacts.
Exhibit Name
Use the chart to record your findings.
Give a reason for using a square in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the triangle.
Triangle
A triangle is a shape having three sides.
Can you identify the triangles in these artifacts?
Investigate: How are triangles used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the triangles in the above artifacts.
Give a reason for the use of the triangle in one of the artifacts.
Exhibit Name
Use the chart to record your findings.
Give a reason for using a triangle in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the rectangle.
Rectangle
A rectangle is a four sided shape that has opposite sides that
are parallel and of equal length.
Can you identify the rectangles in these artifacts?
Investigate: How are rectangles used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the rectangles in the above
artifacts. Give a reason for the use of the rectangle in one of the
artifacts
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a rectangle in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the rhombus.
Rhombus
A rhombus is a parallelogram that has four
equal sides
Can you identify the rhombus in these artifacts?
Investigate: How is the rhombus used?
1. Explore our galleries and find rhombus in the above artifacts.
Give a reason for the use of the rhombus in one of the artifacts
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a rhombus in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the rectangular prism.
Rectangular Prism
A rectangular prism is a solid (three dimensional) object
which has six faces that are rectangles.
Can you identify the rectangular prism in these artifacts?
Investigate: How is the rectangular prism used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the rectangular prisms in the above
artifacts. Give a reason for the use of the rectangular prism in one
of the artifacts
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a rectangular prism in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the cube.
Cube
A cube is a box-shaped solid object that has six identical
square faces.
Can you identify the cube in these artifacts?
Investigate: How is the cube used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the cube in the above artifact. Give
a reason for the use of the cube in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a cube in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the cone.
Cone
A cone is a solid object that has a circular base and one
vertex.
Can you identify the cone in this artifact?
Investigate: How is the cube used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the cone in the above artifact. Give
a reason for the use of the cone in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a cube in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the cylinder.
Cylinder
A cylinder is a solid object with two identical flat
ends that are circular or elliptical.
Can you identify the cylinder in this artifact?
Investigate: How is the cylinder used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the cylinder in the above artifact.
Give a reason for the use of the cube in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a cylinder in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the sphere.
Sphere
A sphere is a 3-dimensional object shaped like a ball.
Can you identify the sphere in this artifact?
Investigate: How is the sphere used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the sphere in the above artifact.
Give a reason for the use of the sphere in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a sphere in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the oval.
Oval
An oval is any curve that looks like an egg or
an ellipse.
Can you identify the oval in this artifact?
Investigate: How is the oval used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the oval in the above artifact. Give
a reason for the use of the oval in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using an oval in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the octagon.
Octagon
A octagon is a flat shape that has eight sides.
Can you identify the octagon in this artifact?
Investigate: How is the octagon used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the octagon in the above artifact.
Give a reason for the use of the octagon in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using an octagon in this artifact.
Directions: Use your marker to outline the trapezoid.
Trapezoid
A trapezoid is a flat shape with straight sides that has a pair
of opposite sides parallel.
Can you identify the trapezoid in this artifact?
Investigate: How is the trapezoid used?
1. Explore our galleries and find the trapezoid in the above artifact.
Give a reason for the use of the trapezoid in the artifact.
Use the chart to record your findings.
Exhibit Name
Give a reason for using a trapezoid in this artifact.