What is 'Shape' in Early Geometry?
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Geometry is the study of the size, shape, position and features of both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes. Children will be exposed to geometry in their everyday life in places such as playgrounds, roads, in the home and within their school, this is why it is so important to introduce the topic in the early years. Shape in particular, is a mathematics topic that engages students both in performance and persistence. It is helpful in acquiring other skills such as following directions, reading maps, drawing and for teachers it can assist you in teaching other mathematical topics due to the many representations being geometric in nature (Reys et al., 2012). Children of different levels will all perceive shapes differently depending on; how quickly they learn, the settings in which they learn, the quality of the education and the way in which geometry - in particular shape- is taught to them (Clements & Sarama, 2000).
Geometry in the early years (Foundation - Level 2) has a clear focus on the identification, classification and description of both 2D and 3D shapes. Reys et al. (2012) suggests that it is our responsibility as teachers to ensure that our students gain a deeper understanding of shapes, rather than just providing the foundational skills such as naming and identifying on a visual level (AusVELS, 2015).
From foundation up to level two the students are expected to be able to; recognise and identify features of both 2D and 3D shapes, be able to draw geometric shapes, be able to create connections between their acquired geometric knowledge and real life objects within their environment and by the end of level two be able to create 3D models of different shapes labelling numbers of edges, points and sides (AusVELS, 2015).
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