Activities Using Two & Three Dimensional Shapes

Paper Activities

• Make flash cards of two and three-dimensional shapes. Two-dimensional shapes have area but not volume and are flat on a page like a square, circle or triangle. Three-dimensional shapes have three dimensions (length, width and height) like a sphere, cube or pyramid. Hold up the flash cards and have the children guess if the shape is two- or three-dimensional. Alternatively, hold up one of each shape and have the children guess which of the shapes are two- or three-dimensional. Award a small prize for each correct answer.

Sorting Activities

• Create sorting activities for the children so they can have hands-on experience with shapes. Cut out different shapes using construction paper and scatter the shapes on the floor. Place objects like a ball, a block and a party hat on a table. Children must place the three-dimensional objects on the two-dimensional shapes. Alternatively, stack a large pile of objects on a table. Have the children sort the objects by shape. For example, they must place all the round objects like balls or oranges into the same stack.

Hunt Activities

• Most children enjoying playing games so make them a hunting game using shapes. Hide two- and three-dimensional shapes all over the classroom. Call out a certain dimension and shape. The first child to find the correct object wins a small prize. If you say, "three-dimensional circle," the children can find a ball or any other round object. If you say, "two-dimensional cone," they must find a flat construction-paper cone. For another idea, call out a shape like "square" and the child who finds the most two- and three-dimensional squares wins.

Other Activities

• For a guessing game, place different objects inside socks or small dark-colored bags. Have children sit in a circle. Pass the bags around the circle for them to feel. Make a game out of the activity by awarding prizes to children who can guess the correct shape. For a memory game, place two- and three- dimensional shape flash cards on a board. Have the children look at the shapes and then have them close their eyes while you remove a shape from the board. When they open their eyes, the first child who can tell you the correct dimension and shape that are missing wins a prize. If you remove a cube, the student must answer "three-dimensional cube." If you remove a triangle, the student must answer "two-dimensional triangle."