Circles, Cylinders, Cones and Spheres ? Comparing 2-D and 3-D Objects

Summary
Children practice in predicting the expansion of simple patterns and also encourages them to think about the 2-D faces on 3-D shapes.

Objectives
• Children will be able to identify specific two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometric shapes.

• Children will be able to practice pattern recognition and classification by locating shapes in their environment.

• Children will be able to predict repeating patterns using two or more shapes.

Suggested Grades
1st Grade
2nd Grade

Excerpt
The reading should form part of a class discussion, as most children in Grade 1 would have difficulty reading it individually. Because of the nature of the lesson, visual aids and either dough or plasticine is an essential part of the learning experience. Activity A gives the children practice in predicting the expansion of simple patterns, Activity B encourages them to think about the 2-D faces on 3-D shapes.

LESSON:
Let?s talk about spheres. The shape of our earth is a sphere. How many spheres can you think of that you see every day? Here are some examples: the moon, a ball of wool, a tennis ball, a soccer ball, a golf ball.

A sphere is a 3-dimensional figure. That means it has three dimensions ? height, width and depth. Flat shapes like the circle have only two dimensions: height and width. Still, a circle belongs to the same family of shapes as the sphere. If you cut a ball in half the flat faces will be circles. Try it with a plasticine ball.

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