Shapes are everywhere, and they are so much fun to learn about!  Our 2D and 3D shape unit is one of my kids’ favorite units of study.

The first thing that we do in class is take the time to recognize all of the different shapes that are in our world.  We use shapes every day, so we stress the fact that learning about shapes is essentially learning about the world that we live in!

One of our favorite songs about shapes in our world is from NumberRock. Its part of  their Polygon Song and Activities set.   What a fun song!  The kids are immediately drawn to it.  This song is literally rolling around in my own memory for weeks after our study! LOL! We also LOVE its accompanying activites!  They fall right in line with the TEKS that we need to cover, and we all know that kiddos love learning through music!  Click on the picture below if you would like more information about the Numberock set.

In first grade, students have identified and created 2D shapes such as circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons, and rhombuses.  They have also identified 3D solids such as cones, spheres, cylinders, and triangular prisms.

So in second grade, we continue on with that learning.  Students are creating 2D shapes according to attributes such as number of sides and vertices.  They are also learning to classify and sort polygons with 12 or fewer sides according to their attributes.  We move from there into developing the understanding that 3D shapes are created from 2D shapes!

Materials such as pattern blocks, popsicle sticks, play doh, and 2D and 3D models are also staples for this unit.  We use all of the above to build and create shapes.  I have enjoyed using senteacher.org to print out the 3D shape templates.  They have wonderful free templates to build cubes, cylinders, cones, rectangular prisms…… The list goes on and on!

I have also created  Venn Diagrams to use when we compare and contrast all of the different shapes that we make. They are such a wonderful tool to promote critical thinking and deeper understanding as the students use them to explain their thinking. To acces these, click on the picture below!

And of course, there is a lot of vocabulary to learn in this unit.  We play vocabulary games such as 2D and 3D Shape BINGO every week.  Even after the unit is over, the students LOVE to play this BINGO game!  If you are interested in this activity, click below for more information. 🙂

The vocabulary cards in this are also wonderful word banks when we write about shapes.  I made a copy of the cards for each table group so that they are easily accessible at any time.  I punched a hole in the corner of each card and attached them with rings.  Many times when the kids have had a question about the shapes we are working with, they have pulled out those cards and found their answer!

Tying literacy into the unit is easy to do with great books like The Greedy Triangle, If You Were a Quadrilateral, If You Were a Polygon, and Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes by Math Start.

Long after we finish the unit, students still enjoy reviewing with all of these shape activities and books!

We finish off the unit with a 3D Robot project that the kids work at home and turn in before the holidays.  It is so much fun to see their creativity with these robots.  They are the perfect culmunation to a fun, engaging unit of study!

For more 2nd grade learning activities, click on the link below to follow me on TPT.