Math Lesson Plan: 3d Geometric Shapes

This is a elementary school math lesson plan on 3d shapes, as well as faces and corners.

Lesson Topic: 3d shapes, faces and corners

Grade Level: 3

Prerequisite knowledge:

Students should have good knowledge of the various 2d shapes (squares, pentagons, hexagons, etc.)

Goals, Objectives, and Standards

Instructional Goals: Students should be able to identify 3d shapes by the end of the lesson, as well as state how many faces and corners a particular 3d shape has.

Specific objectives:

Cognitive Domain: Students will learn about 3d shapes, faces, and corners.

Affective Domain: Students will learn to share with each other and how to work in groups.

Psychomotor Domain: Students will develop their psychomotor domain through the use of manipulative and by using the Rubik's cube to solve mathematical questions.

Procedure

Introduction: Ask children if they know what the difference between 2d and 3d is. Explain it to them in terms of T.V. and movies. Ask if any of them have seen 3d movies. Ask them what differences do they see between a movie that is 3d and one that is 2d. Ask if anyone knows what the 'd'is in 3d and 2d. Explain that 3d has one more dimension than 2d does. Ask if anyone can identify what the 2 dimensions in a 2d object are. (Length and width) Then ask if anyone knows what the third dimension in a 3d object is. (Height.)

Initiating Activity: Show kids some 3d shapes. Show them a cube, cylinder, and pyramid. Ask them if they can find something in the room that is the same shape. Next ask them if they can think of an object outside that would be that shape.

Lesson Development: Show children the 3d shapes again. Ask them to name each shape. Have students give you a silent thumbs up if they know the name of each shape. Choose one student to come up to the board and write the name of the shape. Ask other students if anyone agrees on the name. If someone thinks it's called something else, have them come up and write the name. As a class, decide which name is right. Continue this with all the other shapes.

Ask students if anyone would like to come up and show you, by pointing to a part of a 3d shape, what a face is. Next, ask if anyone can come up and show you where a corner is.

Ask children if spheres and cylinders have any faces or corners. After they have a while to think about this, ask them why or why not.

Coached practice: Pass out worksheets to each table of kids (or form groups if desks are not pushed together.) Have students work together. Give each group a bunch of solid shapes. Have them write down the name of each shape. Then have them write down how many faces and corners each shape has.

Conclusion: Give children their take home assignment. Ask students if they all feel like they understood the day's lessons.

Timetable: The lesson should take one to two class periods.

Assignments

Students' assignment is to go home and draw a picture that uses at least 3 of the 3d shapes they learned about today. They should label each shape on the page.

Materials and Equipment

3d shapes (sphere, cone, pyramid, cube, cylinder, etc), worksheets with blank spaces next to a picture of each shape, and spaces where students can write the name of the shape, how many faces it has, and how many corners it has.

Assessment

Assess students' understanding by observing their interactions with their group as they do group work, as well as their participation in class, and finally by checking their take-home assignment.