Lesson 2

Build Shapes from Other Shapes

Warm-up: Notice and Wonder: A Shape Bridge (10 minutes)

CCSS Standards


Addressing

Routines and Access


Instructional Routines


Narrative

The purpose of this warm-up is to elicit the idea that three-dimensional shapes can be used to make larger shapes. Students are introduced to the terms rectangular prism and triangular prism, but are not expected to produce those terms in grade 1.

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • Display the image.
  • “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
  • 1 minute: quiet think time

Activity

  • “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
  • 1 minute: partner discussion
  • Share and record responses.

Student Facing

What do you notice?
What do you wonder?

A bridge made of geoblocks.

Student Response

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Student Response.

Activity Synthesis

  • “What solid shapes do you see in this image?” (cube, triangle blocks, rectangle blocks)
  • Display a triangular prism.
  • “You saw some of these shapes in this image. It is called a triangular prism. Say triangular prism.”
  • Display a rectangular prism.
  • “You saw some of these shapes in this image. It is called a rectangular prism. Say rectangular prism.”
  • Display each shape a few times and invite students to chorally repeat the names in unison 1–2 times:
    • Rectangular prism
    • Triangular prism

Activity 1: Build With Solid Shapes (15 minutes)

CCSS Standards


Addressing

Routines and Access


Access for English Learners

  • MLR8

Access for Students with Disabilities

  • Engagement

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to use solid shapes to create objects. As they build, encourage students to name the new object and talk about the shapes they used. For example, students may use a cube and a triangular prism and describe it as a house. They continue to use their own language to name the shapes and may recognize three-dimensional shapes such as cube, cylinder, cone, and sphere. Students may use the terms rectangular prism and triangular prism, but it is not expected that they do so.
MLR8 Discussion Supports. Display sentence frames to support small-group discussion: “I made a…” and “The shapes I used were…”
Advances: Speaking, Conversing
Engagement: Provide Access by Recruiting Interest. Use visible timers or audible alerts to help learners anticipate and prepare to transition between activities.
Supports accessibility for: Attention, Social-Emotional Functioning

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Launch

  • Groups of 4
  • Give each group geoblocks and solid shapes.
  • Display a cube, cylinder, sphere, and cone.
  • “What are the names of these solid shapes?” (cube, cylinder, sphere, and cone)
  • 30 seconds: quiet think time
  • Share responses. For each shape, ask the class to repeat the name of the shape.

Activity

  • “Use the shapes to build a new object. You can build anything you want. Be sure you can describe your new object.”
  • 5 minutes: independent work time
  • “Show the object you built to your group. Describe what you made and what shapes you used.”
  • 5 minutes: small group discussion
  • Monitor for 3 or 4 objects to share during the synthesis.

Student Response

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Student Response.

Activity Synthesis

  • Invite previously identified students to share.
  • “What shapes did they use to make their object?” (They used 4 cubes and 2 solid triangle blocks.)
  • Repeat as time allows.

Activity 2: Use Shapes to Make Other Shapes (10 minutes)

CCSS Standards


Addressing

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to create composite shapes and compose new shapes from composite shapes. For example, students may find that a rectangular prism can be made from four triangular prisms or from eight smaller cubes. Students then discover that they can combine two of the composed rectangular prisms to make a new rectangular prism.

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Launch

  • Groups of 4
  • Give each group geoblocks.
  • Display a large cube.
  • “This cube can be built from other shapes. See how many ways you can build a cube using other shapes.”
  • 3 minutes: partner work time
  • Share responses.

Activity

  • “Choose a different shape. Try to find smaller shapes you can use to build that shape.”
  • 5 minutes: partner work time

Student Response

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Student Response.

Activity Synthesis

  • Display a cube and a composite cube—for example, a cube composed of four small cubes and one rectangular prism.
  • Demonstrate putting the shapes together.
  • “What new shape did I make with the cube and the cube I made?”
  • “Put your shapes together to make a rectangular prism.”
  • Display a rectangular prism and two triangular prisms.
  • “Find these shapes. Put them together. What new shape can you make?” (a cube, a rectangular block)

Activity 3: Introduce Geoblocks, Describe and Find (15 minutes)

CCSS Standards


Addressing

Narrative

The purpose of this activity is for students to learn stage 3 of the Geoblocks center. Students describe solid shapes so their partner can identify the shape out of a set of 4–6 solid shapes. Students may describe the shapes in many ways.

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Launch

  • Groups of 2
  • Give each group 4-6 different geoblocks and solid shapes.
  • “We are going to learn a new way to play Geoblocks, which is a center that was introduced in kindergarten.”
  • “Put the solid shapes in the middle, between you and your partner.”
  • 30 seconds: partner work time 
  • “Think of a shape but don’t tell your partner. Describe one of the shapes to your partner. Your partner’s job is to guess which shape you are describing. Once your partner figures out which shape you are describing, switch roles.”

Activity

  • 10 minutes: partner work time
  • Monitor for students who describe the shapes in different ways.

Activity Synthesis

  • Invite previously identified students to share. 
  • “Which clues did your partner give that were helpful to you?” (My partner said the shape had a flat side that is a circle and it had a point on the other end.)

Lesson Synthesis

Lesson Synthesis

“Today we worked with solid shapes to make new shapes and objects. We also described shapes. What were some of the ways you described the shapes?” (I told my partner how many sides it had. I said what the shape of the sides were. I counted the points and told my partner how many.)

“Mai was describing a shape for her partner. She said the shape was hard and smooth. Do you think her partner will be able to find the shape she is describing? Why or why not?” (No because all of these shapes are hard and smooth. She didn’t describe the things that make her shape different than the other shapes.)

Cool-down: Unit 7, Section A Checkpoint (0 minutes)

CCSS Standards


Addressing

Cool-Down

Teachers with a valid work email address can click here to register or sign in for free access to Cool-Downs.