Title Kindergarten Three-dimensional shapes Student Target Timeline: Kindergarten Big Idea 2: Describe shapes and space Body of Knowledge: Geometry Math Benchmarks: MA.K.G.2.3: Identify, name, describe, and sort three-dimensional shapes such as spheres, cubes and cylinders; MA.K.G.2.4: Interpret the physical world with geometric shapes and describe it with corresponding vocabulary; MA.K.G.2.5: Use basic shapes, spatial reasoning,, and manipulatives to model objects in the environment and to construct more complex shapes. Visual Art Benchmarks: VA.K.C.1.1: Create and share personal works of art with others; VA.K.F.1.2: Identify real and imaginary subject matter in works of art Student Target: I can identify, name, describe, and sort 3-dimensional shapes, use manipulatives and real-world objects to address this benchmark, create new objects from a set of given shapes, and reproduce a model by selecting the shapes represented in the model. Background Information: You put something into long-term memory by finding a structure for it that already exists in your head; by making sense of it, in other words (Frank Smith, The Book of Learning & Forgetting, 1998, p. 33). Using the arts in this case sculpture gives children a familiar structure that helps them learn and remember math concepts. It makes the abstract concrete. Materials Teachers: Picture of a child cut from a magazine PowerPoint 3-D Shapes Flash cards with 3-D shape names: sphere, cone, cylinder, cube (at end of this lesson) Students: Turn and talk partners modeling clay for each child (apx. golf ball size or larger per child, multiple colors per child a plus) 5 x 5 cardboard squares to use as a base for their sculpture; can be cut from a cardboard box Elmer s glue 1 or 2 pipe cleaners per student (or twist ties, or colorful rubber coated wire cut into 6 pieces) Warm-Up There are shapes all around us. What shapes can you find in this room? (Students most likely will identify 2-dimensional shapes, such as a rectangle in the ceiling tile, or a square on the tile floor). The shapes you found are called two-dimensional shapes because they are flat. Here is an example of a two-dimensional shape (Show the picture of a child cut from a magazine). Why do you think this is called two dimensional? (It s flat; you can t see all around it). Ask a child to stand in front of the room. Would this student be considered two dimensional? (No! This child is not a flat shape and you can see all around this person). This student is three dimensional. That means this person is not a flat shape and we can walk all they around this person and see from all sides. Let s look at some more shapes.
Lesson/Activity Display the first slide of the PowerPoint. Take 1 to 2 minutes to look closely at this painting and describe to your partner what you see. Allow one to two minutes, circulate to listen to conversations, and then call together as a group. What did you and your partner see in this painting? Allow several students to share responses. This painting is by an artist named Wassily Kandinsky (pronounced VAS-uh-lee kand-din-ski) who lived in Russia more than 100 years ago. He enjoyed using many colors and shapes in his paintings. What shapes do you see? Would these be twodimensional or three-dimensional shapes? How do you know? (Two-dimensional because they are flat and you can t see all around them.). Show the second painting if there is time, and go through the same routine. Now I m going to show you some real sculptures that are found all around the world. What is a sculpture? (Sculpture is a kind of art that can be made from stone, metal, plastic, or many other materials. It is three dimensional, which means if you are standing in front of a sculpture you can walk all the way around it). The sculptures you will see are each made of a certain three dimensional shape. Show the first sculpture, sphere. What does this shape look like (a ball)? It s called a sphere. Show the flashcard you made with the word sphere printed on it. Have students repeat the word until they can pronounce the word. Can you think of other examples of spheres? (basketball, globe, a marble). This artist made a sculpture from spheres. How many spheres do you see? Where do you think these spheres are sitting? (water). Why would the artist put this sculpture in water? (i.e. so you can see the reflection, it looks more interesting, etc.). Why is this sculpture called three-dimensional? (If you were there, you could see all around the spheres). Go through the same routine of questions with the next three slides (cone, cylinder, cube). Ask questions about the sculpture as well, such as: Why do you think the artist put this cone upside down? Why did the artist make these cylinders red? Why do you think he placed the sculpture here? Why did the artist make this cube stand on one end instead of placing it flat on the ground? (Tell students that this sculpture actually spins with just a push) The six slides that follow are examples of sculptures comprised of 3-D shapes. Pass out the four flash cards to four different students (If your students are organized into teams, give a card to a student at each team). As you show each slide, the student with the card that matches the shape in the slide should raise the card so other students can see it. The other students can use a thumbs-up/thumbs-down signal to agree or disagree. Then ask students to repeat the word. Also ask questions about the sculptures themselves, such as: Why do you think the artist chose to make this sphere have holes in it? Why did the artist make this cube red? Why did he put a hole in it? Why did the artist make these cylinders curl? Why is there a car at the end? What could these curly cylinders represent? Why would an artist make a giant traffic cone? Why does this shiny sculpture almost look like it s moving? What are these green sculptures made of? Why did the artist make a cube out of spheres? Why do you think the artist put this sculpture outside? Try It Out: Now you get to create these 3-D shapes using clay, and turn them into your own sculpture! Demonstrate how to make each shape (i.e. to make a sphere, take a small piece of clay in your palm and roll it clockwise in a circular motion with both palms; to make a cylinder, place a small piece of clay between your palms and move your hands forward and backwards, etc.).
Make sure you demonstrate the appropriate sizes they can make (based on the amount of clay available for each student). Once you create all four of the 3-D shapes, arrange them artfully on a 5 x 5 cardboard base Depending on the amount of clay available, you may create multiples of each shape, and students can do the same. Show the Kandinsky paintings and remind students that he used both shapes and lines in his art, and the pipe cleaner is like a line. You can stick it into one shape, curl it or bend it, or connect two shapes. Once your model is complete, distribute the clay, cardboard bases, glue, and pipe cleaners. Walk through, step-by-step, how to make each 3-D shape as students create them. Wrap-Up Have students share their sculptures with the class. Challenge them to use the correct vocabulary to describe each shape they used. Daily Assessment Ask students to share with their partner the definition of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes. Date Created: 4/15/2011 Originator: Jeff Fessler, K 12 Arts Education Department Owner: Last Modified: 9/7/11 Last Modified By: Jeff Fessler
Link 1 Sphere Cone
Cylinder Sphere