Measure 29 — MATH 4

Shapes

Child shows increasing knowledge of shapes and their characteristics

Knowledge of shapes and their characteristics is an important component of young children’s developing concepts about geometry and spatial/geometric relationships. Learning about shapes involves much more than learning the names of common geometric shapes. It also incorporates learning about the characteristics and properties of shapes (their sides, angles and corners, etc.), as well as developing ideas about how shapes fit together and what happens to a shape when it undergoes a spatial transformation (when it is turned or flipped, for example).

As soon as infants can grasp objects, they manipulate them and explore their properties. As infants and toddlers play with objects, they begin to learn about basic physical properties, such as size and form or shape (for example, open or closed forms and straight or curved edges). Older infants and toddlers begin to manipulate objects in ways that are consistent with their overall properties, for example, by putting smaller things inside larger things. With experience, they also begin to put objects together in ways that are consistent with their shapes. For example, they might fit shapes into a shape sorter (such as a square block into a square hole), though they may need to try more than one opening to find the correct one.

Before they know the names of geometric shapes (circle, square, etc.), young preschoolers demonstrate a growing awareness of similarities and differences among shapes in their play. They are increasingly able to match identical shapes and fit shapes together without trying solutions that clearly won’t work (as in working simple puzzles). They may even learn to recognize and name some common geometric shapes. However, they tend to recognize a shape as an unanalyzed whole, based on its overall similarity to a familiar prototype, rather than on the shape’s defining characteristics. For example, they may only recognize a triangle as a triangle if it has three equal sides. Or, a child might easily recognize a square that is in the conventional orientation, but call it a diamond when it is turned.

Older preschoolers usually learn to identify several common shapes, including circles, squares, and triangles; and some can name other shapes, such as rectangles. They also begin to construct ideas about shapes based on simple properties, such as the number of sides, rather than on rigid prototypes. They are increasingly able to recognize shapes in different contexts and orientations. In their play with shapes (working puzzles, constructing, and drawing), they put shapes together, take them apart, flip them, and turn them with increased purpose and precision. Given opportunities to engage in activities that support this knowledge, older preschoolers also begin to analyze the properties of shapes and describe and compare shapes based on their defining characteristics, such as number and relative length of sides, and number and size of angles/corners.