Lesson 7
Build with Straws
Lesson Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is for students to build shapes from components.
Lesson Narrative
In a previous lesson, students compared the length of rectangles that were lined up. In this lesson, students work with straws to build shapes. Students initially compare the length of the straws and then use the straws to build shapes. If straws are not available, other materials may be used as long as there are at least 4 different lengths of the material.
- Representation
- MLR8
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Build shapes from components and name the shapes.
- Compare the lengths of 2 objects, by lining up the endpoints.
Student Facing
- Let’s make shapes with straws.
Required Materials
Materials to Gather
- Bags
- Materials from a previous activity
- Materials from previous centers
- Play dough or modeling clay
- Straws
Materials to Copy
- Build Shapes Stage 1 and 2 Cards
Required Preparation
Activity 1:
- Each group of 2 needs a bag with at least 6 straws of each size:
- \(2\frac{3}{4}\) inches
- \(1\frac{1}{2}\) inch
- 1 inch
- \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch
Activity 2:
- Students need the bags of straws from the previous activity.
Activity 3:
- Students need the bags of straws and clay from the previous activity.
- Gather materials from:
- Counting Collections, Stage 1
- Which One, Stage 1
- Picture Books, Stages 1–3
- Bingo, Stages 1 and 2
- Shake and Spill, Stages 1 and 2
Lesson Timeline
| Warm-up | 10 min |
| Activity 1 | 10 min |
| Activity 2 | 15 min |
| Activity 3 | 20 min |
| Lesson Synthesis | 5 min |
| Cool-down | 0 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
How did the work of the previous lesson lay the foundation for students to be successful in the first activity of this lesson?