Shape Graphing (Beginner)

Shape Graphing stickerI recently found this worksheet I made forever ago. It worked well with basic graphing. . Have the kids color and count each shape. Then create a graph based on the number of times each shape appears. It has worked well to start with a page like this where the graph structure is there and they just have to fill in the grid. Once we get good at this kind, I start having the kids make the graph structure themselves. Sometimes I just cover the bottom half of the paper before I run copies. Then the students have to make the entire graph themselves. Easy-peasy!

Download the printable: I can graph the pictures SHAPES

Answers: 3 squares, 5 hearts, 7 snowflakes, 2 presents, 9 stars (total of 26 shapes)

“May the 4th Be With You!” Activity

Calling all geeks! It’s May 4th, so you’ve probably already bid your friends farewell by saying “May the fourth be with you!” I probably should celebrate (or at least acknowledge) May 4th at school. I know this next idea is a little late…hindsight is 20/20. I’ll have to do this next year. (Ta-da! Now I’m prepped a year ahead!)

I just saw this free coloring page over at Homeschool Encouragement and thought of a math connection!

Star Wars - Homeschool Encouragement

Print one of these for each student. Then make up a key that might look something like this (choose your own colors if you want):

  • circles = red
  • trapezoids = green
  • rectangles = blue
  • squares = yellow
  • everything else = orange

This way, you’re practicing shapes while you celebrate May the Fourth! If you’re looking to be more interactive, consider having your students create the image above with tangrams.

Here are some other Star Wars themed coloring pages for you to be creative with!

But no matter what you do, may the fourth be with you! 🙂

Giveaway! Roylco Straws & Connectors Set

 **This Giveaway has ended. Check back for more giveaway fun!**

As promised, I have a fun treat for you! Another giveaway! I’m pleased to partner with Roylco, creators of all things fun and educational for your classroom! So here’s the part you’re waiting for… what can you win!? Drum roll please!

Connectors Giveaway

What: This Straws & Connectors set has a whopping 705 pieces (over triple what we played with) and retails for $60, available for purchase here. It’s recommended for ages 4-5+, which I think is appropriate.

How to Enter: Super easy! Here are the steps:

  1. Hop on over to the Roylco Blog. (Click here)
  2. Poke around and check out their craft ideas. (There’s so much fun stuff over there, I know!)
  3. Come back here to this blog and write me a comment telling me what Roylco craft you liked. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page to type your comment. If you’re not a WordPress member, please leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win! That’s it!

This giveaway ends 1 week from now, at midnight (PST) on Tuesday, December 16, 2014.  **This giveaway has ended. Check back for more giveaway fun!**

Connectors Giveaway 2

What I think about the Roylco Straws & Connectors set: Way fun!! We played with the 230-piece set. It was a great amount for two of us to use. When I opened the box, it looked like this:

Connectors 2

It wasn’t hard to separate the connectors. Once we pulled them all apart, here’s what we had to play (and learn) with:

Connectors 1

At first, we didn’t use the directions, but we soon peeked at them to see hot to make more complex connections. The directions were fairly simple, easy to read, and gave us some good inspiration. Here are some of the creations we came up with (notice they get cooler as we continued to play with them):

Connectors 6

Connectors 5

The straws are roughly 9 inches long. They’re not very hard to connect, but they’ve got enough squeeze between the straw and connector that they stay connected pretty well.Connectors 7 Connectors 9 Connectors 8This was our favorite creation: a 30 inch tall “castle” with corners and arches!Connectors 10

What can you learn: First of all, these are just plain fun. So no matter what kids learn, they’ll have a good time. Here are some ideas for incorporating learning into this activity:

  • Identifying vertices and edges in 3D shapes
  • Structural aspects of various shapes (Which shapes are strongest?)
  • Spacial intelligence (How many cubes made up this castle? How many cylinders?)
  • Volume! (What’s the volume of the cube? Of the castle?)
  • Recreating historical buildings out
  • Creating chemical compounds (H20, etc)
  • And the list goes on!

 **This giveaway has ended. Check back for more giveaway fun!**

How to Post a Comment:

A few readers have told me they struggled with finding the place to write a comment. There are a few ways readers will get to this page, so here’s how to post a comment (depending on how you got to this post).

If there are multiple posts on this page (you’re on the Squarehead Teachers home page or a search results page):
How to Comment 2

If you clicked on this post (and it’s the only one on the page), then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page:
How to Comment

The Fine Print: Participation is optional. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase is necessary to participate. Only one entry per person. Available to US and Canada participants only. There will be one winner. Winner will be randomly selected. I will email the winner between Wednesday, Dec. 17-Thursday, Dec. 18. The winner will have 24 hours to respond and provide me with shipping information so I can mail them their prize! If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, the winner forfeits the prize and another winner will randomly be selected (in which case the new winner will be notified and the same terms apply).  The winner will be announced on this blog once eligibility has been confirmed. I cannot guarantee the winner will receive their prize before Christmas, but I’ll try my best! This giveaway is sponsored by Squarehead Teachers and Roylco, and is not affiliated with WordPress or any other sponsor. If you have additional questions, please contact me! Good luck!

Tangrams Turkey (Pattern Blocks)

I was TOTALLY inspired by this picture:

Tangram Turkey 1(photo source)

Yes, it’s an adorable paper Thanksgiving craft. But it could be SO MUCH MORE! Imagine doing this with your 5th or 6th graders. You first tell them to make a turkey, using any shapes.

Tangram Turkey 2

Then after they’re done putting the shapes together (and BEFORE they glue on the turkey’s body), they have to figure out all the math characteristics of their project. Including:

  • number of triangles, rectangles, squares, trapezoids, etc.
  • Number of vertices, edges, etc.
  • acute, obtuse and right angles
  • And the list goes on!

 

Tangram Turkey 3Anyway, I thought this would be a cool way to merge math and art. Know of any other great Thanksgiving crafts or activities for kids? Let me know!

Octagon-Octopus

I was recently working with a student to help them remember shape words (quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, etc). When we got to “octagon,” we somehow came up with this drawing and it seemed to really click with him. So I snapped a (rather lame) picture of our drawing in hopes that this idea might also help another student out there somewhere.

octagon octopus

How do you help your students remember these shape names?

3D Shapes Review (Geometry)

3D shapes STICKERHere are some review pages (half sheet; so run off only half the number of students in your class and cut the sheets in half). These pages review names of 3D geometric shapes (cube, rectangular prism, sphere, etc.) as well as parts of 2- and 3D shapes (vertices, edges, etc.).

Click here for the free printable PDFs:
3D Shapes Review 1
3D Shapes Review 2

Identifying Parts of Shapes

identify shapes, angles, vertices A  STICKER

Need a quick review of angles, vertices, shape names, etc? Well, here’s a half sheet for you to give your students. It would be great for a math warm-up activity, since it isn’t very long.

Click here for the free math printable worksheet (PDF): Identifying Parts of Shapes

Shapes Worksheet

Shapes Rock STICKER

Here’s a practice page for reviewing/identifying parts of geometric shapes (angles, sides, vertices, parallel lines, etc).  Click here for the free printable PDF: Shapes Rock