hapes

  Here are some ideas for teaching shapes.   

I don't teach shapes in one isolated unit, instead we focus on one shape every two weeks using Frog Street Press materials and then we review daily for the rest of the year. 

5 Day Shape Plan

Day 1: 

• Read Frog Street Press shape book to class

• Sing Frog Street Press shape song.  Show the book and turn the pages as you sing the song.

• Introduce the shape poster- leader holds the poster in front of class while students sing the song.

• Place a recording of the shape song and book in your listening center.. 

Days 2-5:

• Read Frog Street Press shape book to class

• Sing Frog Street Press shape song.  Show the book and turn the pages as you sing the song. 

• Shape poster- leader holds the poster in front of class while students sing the song.

Note:  Since we study each shape for two weeks days 2-5 repeat themselves every day the following week.  Each song is available in the listening center all year after it is introduced.  The shape books are also available all year in the class library after their initial introduction. 

Color & Shape Bingo

My students love to play this color and shape bingo game by Trend. 

Lakeshore Sorting Shapes & Colors Pocket Chart

This pocket chart was sold by the Lakeshore Learning store, I'm not sure it's available any longer.  My students absolutely adore this chart and enjoy sorting all the shapes and colors into the correct pockets.  I introduce this chart to the whole group for the first few days and then place it in a center for independent practice. 

Frog Street Press Shape Posters

I use these posters in my classroom to help teach the shapes.  You can laminate and bind them to create your very own big book that your students can "read" independently without the risk of damage.

Frog Street Press Shape Books

I started using Frog Street Press shape songs two years ago as soon as they were introduced.  There is a song for each shape, a music CD, and a reproducible book so you can copy and make little books for each child, or enlarge, color, and laminate to make books to use with the whole class.   I recently upgraded to the Frog Street shape little books that they sell, I use them in my classroom library, in the listening center, and with my ELMO technology cart.   These are already colored for you if you don't have the time, a great investment in my opinion. 

You can also make posters to go along with each shape song.  You can make your own posters a variety of ways, you can write the words out in colored markers and illustrate (see photo below of a color song poster) or you can write the words on sentence strips and make a pocket chart.

In the classroom library we have a book box containing shape books.