Key Concepts of 'Shape'
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The concept of shape can be extremely broad - therefore we as teachers must be able to understand and interpret the curriculum in such a way that allows children to learn about shapes accurately and in stages so that deeper understandings of geometry in the later years can be made (Clements & Sarama, 2000). When building upon a child's understanding of shape, Clements & Sarama (2000) suggest that there are six steps/phases that teachers should take the children through when introducing the concept of shape. This will enable the children to create connections with shapes on a deeper level than simply being able to name, sort and identify a shape.
- Building knowledge of Shapes
- Analysing Shapes
- Supporting Visual Memory
- Combining Shapes
- Reproducing Shapes and combinations of Shapes
- Creating with Shapes
When teaching shape in the early years there is significant focus on creating an understanding and comparisons of both 2D and 3D shapes. AusVELS states that from the introduction of shapes at the foundation level, up until level 2, students should all have the ability to (AusVELS, 2015):
- Sort, describe and name 2D and 3D shapes within their environment
- Draw 2D shapes
- Describe 2D shapes
- Accurately recognize 2D shapes
- Classify similarities of features between 2D shapes and 3D objects
- Describe the features of 3D shapes
With the introduction of shapes also comes other elements of geometry such as the ability to identify lines of symmetry, congruence and transformation (Clements & Sarama, 2014). Children begin to be able to describe similarities and differences between shapes and are able to compare and contrast the features of basic 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes.
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Along with being able to recognise, sort and describe shapes, it is important that children are also familiarised with and utilise the correct vocabulary when learning about shapes. These are descriptive words such as: vertices, corners, edges, faces, sides, 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional (Reys et al., 2012). Having a focus on the use of correct vocabulary will ensure that descriptions and comparisons of shapes, whether 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional, are accurate.
Image Sourced: gogeometry.com
Image Sourced: gogeometry.com