2D and 3D Shape Centers

Teaching young learners about 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes can sometimes be difficult because it is an abstract concept unless they can hold and manipulate the shape or relate it to a real life object that they know.  This was exactly why I created these 2D and 3D Shape Math Centers.  I wanted to give teachers seven different activities where students are practicing the different shapes but also working with the shapes of real life objects.

For all of these activities, I would recommend printing and then laminating for durability.  Each center also comes with directions and a picture of the assembled product.

2D and 3D Puzzles

 Supplies Need:

-Puzzles
-Scissors to prep

To Assemble:

1. Print
2. Laminate
3. Cut puzzles apart into 3 pieces

To use:

Have students practice assembling the puzzles by finding the shape, shape name and matching real life object.

Shapes included:   circle, oval, square, rectangle, hexagon, octagon, pentagon, rhombus, triangle, crescent, heart, semi-circle, star, trapezoid, cone, cube, cylinder, pyramid, rectangular prism, sphere, triangular prism

Click here to grab these 2D and 3D centers here!

Sorting Mats

Supplies Need:

-Sorting Mats
-Shape cards

To Assemble:

1. Decide what mats you will use and which cards you want as options for each mat.
2. Print
3. Laminate
4. Cut shape cards apart

To use:

Give students a sorting mat and cards.  Have them sort the shape cards into the correct section based on the headings.

Sorting mat options: Circle/square/triangle/rectangle, pentagon/hexagon/rectangle/octagon, prism/sphere/cone/cube, cylinder/sphere/pyramid/cube, 2D/3D, 3 sides/4 sides/5 sides/6 or more sides

Shapes included:   circle, square, rectangle, hexagon, octagon, pentagon, triangle, cone, cube, cylinder, pyramid, rectangular prism, sphere

 Shape Card Games

 Supplies Need:

-Shape Cards (there are 3 cards for each shape - the shape, the word and the real world example)

To Assemble:

1. Print cards you want to use
2. Laminate
3. Cut cards apart and group them together based on what game you wants students to play

To use:

1.Option 1: Sorting Game.  Set out all the shape cards.  Sort so that each pile includes a picture card, a real world object and the matching word.

2.Option 2: Memory Game.  Choose 2 cards for each shape (shape, real world object, word) and lay them all face down.  Players take turns flipping over two cards at a time looking for a match.  If the shape and the real world object are the same, that’s a match and you can take another turn.  Player with the most matches wins.

3.Option 3: Go Fish.  Shuffle the cards and place them face down in a pile.  Each player takes 5 cards (more or less depending on age or ability).  If they have 3 of the same shape, that is considered a match and they set it down in front of them and draw 3 more cards.  Players take turns asking for a certain shape, if the other person has it, they give it to them.  The player with the most matches when all the cards are gone is the winner.  Again, based on students ability level you can require two matching cards instead. 

Shapes included:   circle, oval, square, rectangle, hexagon, octagon, pentagon, rhombus, triangle, crescent, heart, semi-circle, star, trapezoid, cone, cube, cylinder, pyramid, rectangular prism, sphere, triangular prism

Spin and Cover Games

 Supplies Need:

-Game boards
-Pencil and paperclip for spinner
-Small Manipulatives (mini erasers, math manipulatives, bingo chips, etc.)

To Assemble:

1. Print the boards you want to use
2. Laminate

To use:

1. Give students small manipulatives to cover the pictures.  Small themed erasers (from the Target dollar section) work perfectly.

2. Use a paperclip and a pencil to make a spinner.  Set the paperclip on the spinner and put the pencil through it and into the middle of the spinner.  With one hand, hold the pencil, while the other hand flicks and spins the paperclip. 

3. When they spin a shape, they find and cover the real world object that matches that shape on the board. 

4. Continue spinning until all shapes are covered.

Partner Option

1. This activity could also be played in pairs.  Give each partner a different type or color of manipulative. 

2. Take turns spinning and covering the shapes.

3.If you spin a shape that has no matching spaces left on the board, your turn is over.

4.The last person to cover the last shape left on the board is the winner.

Includes 2D and 3D game boards

Write and Wipe Cards

 Supplies Need:

-Write and wipe mats
-Dry erase markers (or crayons)
-Eraser

To Assemble:

1. Print
2. Laminate
3. Cut mats apart

To use:

1.Using dry erase markers, vis a vis markers, or dry erase crayons, count the number of sides and write that number in the box.

2.Then count and write the number of vertices.

3.Wipe off the card and try the next one.

Shapes included:   circle, octagon, hexagon, pentagon, rectangle, square, rhombus, triangle, trapezoid, oval, star, heart

Clip Cards

 Supplies Need:

-Counting cards
-Clothespins

To Assemble: (detailed assembly directions are included in the file)

1. Print
2. Cut apart horizonatally
3. Fold in half
4. Laminate

To use:

1.Give students the clip cards and some clothespins. 

2.Students will clip the clothespin onto the square that shows the matching shape.

3.To check to see if they got it right, they can flip over the card.  If the clothespin is clipped on the yellow dot, the answer is correct.

Note:  This has 2 different types of cards.  The first set is matching the real world object to the picture of the shape.  The second set involves matching the picture to the object’s name. Choose the set that works best for your students.

Shapes included:   triangular prism, sphere, rectangular prism, pyramid, cylinder, cube, cone, circle, square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, trapezoid, semi-circle, heart, oval

Click here to grab these 2D and 3D centers here!

Playdough/Tracing Mats

Supplies Need:

-Playdough Mats
-Playdough (or dry erase marker to just trace the shape)

To Assemble:

1. Print
2. Laminate
3. Cut apart

To use:

Use playdough to practice making the 2D and 3D shapes.  If you don’t want to use playdough, you can treat it as a tracing activity using a dry erase marker or crayon.

Click here to grab these 2D and 3D centers today!