Lesson 116: Building with shapes

🧮 MATH (40 Lessons) • 🟠 E. Problem Solving & Projects

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Objective

I can use shapes to build simple pictures and models. I can name shapes like square, circle, triangle, cube, and cone. I can explain which shapes I used and how many I used in my design.

Materials

Mini-lesson — Using shapes to build pictures and models

We can use shapes to make pictures on paper and models we can hold. Shapes are like little building blocks for our ideas.

2D shapes (flat)

  • A square has 4 equal sides and 4 corners.
  • A rectangle has 4 sides and 4 corners too, but sides can be longer.
  • A triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners.
  • A circle is round and has no corners.

3D shapes (solid)

  • A cube looks like a box. It has square faces.
  • A cone looks like an ice cream cone.
  • A cylinder looks like a can.

Building pictures

  • We can build a house with a square and a triangle roof.
  • We can build a rocket with a long rectangle and a triangle top.
  • We can build a face with a circle, small circles, and a triangle nose.

Building models

  • We can stack cubes to make a tower.
  • We can put a cone on top of a cylinder to make a castle tower.
  • We can mix shapes to make cars, robots, or animals.

In this project lesson, you will use shapes to design and build something of your own. You will also practise explaining your design using shape names.

Picture strip: Shape house and shape rocket.

Shape house

Shape rocket

Guided Practice — Planning your shape design

You will plan and start a shape design. You can make a house, rocket, robot, or any simple picture you like. Use the tracing pad to practise the most important shape words.

  1. Choose your design: Decide what you want to build (for example, a shape house or a shape robot).
  2. Pick your shapes: Look at your paper shapes or blocks. Choose a few squares, triangles, and circles you will use.
  3. Lay out the shapes: On your table, move the shapes around until they make your picture (for example, a square body with a triangle hat).
  4. Count and say: Say out loud what you see, like "I used 2 squares and 1 triangle."
  5. Trace key words: On the tracing pad, trace shape words you are using, such as square, circle, triangle, or tower.
  6. Sketch your design: On paper or in your notebook, draw a quick sketch of your design using simple shapes (just outlines is fine).
  7. Check your plan: Make sure your design uses at least three shapes and that you can name each shape.
Tracing Pad
Tracing snapshot for print
Tip: After tracing shape words, write a short sentence such as "My tower has 3 cubes." and draw a tiny picture of your design next to it.

Practice 1 — Plan your shape picture

Use your shapes and paper to plan a flat shape picture. You can do this on the table or in your notebook.

  1. Choose what you will make (for example, a house, rocket, robot, or animal).
  2. On your paper, draw only the shapes you will need (squares, triangles, circles, rectangles).
  3. Next to your plan, write a list such as "2 squares, 3 triangles, 1 circle".
  4. Check that you can name each shape in your picture.

Practice 2 — Build and describe your model

Now it is time to build and talk about your shape design.

  1. Use paper shapes or blocks to build the picture from your plan.
  2. When you finish, point to each part and say which shape it is.
  3. Tell a partner or adult: "I used 4 squares and 2 triangles to make my house."
  4. On your paper, write one sentence about your design, such as "My rocket uses 1 rectangle and 1 triangle."

Practice 3 — Change and improve your design

Try a small shape challenge: change your design in one way and explain what happened.

  1. Choose one part to change, like the roof, the body, or the tower top.
  2. Swap one shape for another (for example, use a triangle instead of a rectangle).
  3. Count how many shapes you have now and say if you used more or fewer shapes.
  4. Tell someone: "Before I had 3 squares. Now I have 2 squares and 1 triangle."
  5. Draw a quick "before" and "after" picture in your notebook.

Quick Check — Building with shapes

Answer each question about shapes and shape designs. You may look back at the mini-lesson and your own drawing.

1) Which shape is round and has no corners?

A circle is round and does not have any corners.

2) Which shape has 4 equal sides?

A square has 4 sides that are all the same length.

3) Which shape has 3 sides and 3 corners?

A triangle has 3 straight sides and 3 corners.

4) Which solid shape looks like a box?

A cube looks like a little box with square faces.

5) Which solid shape looks like an ice cream cone?

A cone has a round base and a point, like an ice cream cone.

6) Which solid shape looks most like a can of soup?

A cylinder has two flat round ends and straight sides, like a can.

7) You want to make a roof on a house picture. Which shape is best?

A triangle makes a good pointed roof.

8) You build a shape house with 2 squares and 1 triangle. How many shapes did you use?

You used 2 squares + 1 triangle, so 3 shapes altogether.

9) You add one more square to your house. Now you have 3 squares and 1 triangle. How many shapes now?

3 squares + 1 triangle makes 4 shapes.

10) Which design could be called a shape tower?

A tall stack of cubes looks like a tower.

11) In your picture, you draw a round sun. Which shape do you use?

The sun is round, so a circle is a good shape to choose.

12) What do we call the points where two shape sides meet?

Corners are the pointy parts where sides meet.

13) Your teacher says, “Use at least three shapes in your design.” Which set is OK?

1 square + 1 triangle + 1 circle uses three shapes.

14) Why do we talk about shapes when we build pictures and models?

Shape words help us plan, build, and explain our designs clearly.

15) After this lesson, what can you say if you met the goal?

The goal is to build with shapes and explain what you made.

Assessment (parent/teacher)

Exit ticket (student)

Next time I will practise…

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