Teaching Topic: Shapes

Shape Vocabulary Cards

Learning about animals can begin with first learning names of animals. Use the Shape Vocabulary Set of our Vocabulary Flashcards to teach your students vocabulary words for this topic.

Phonics Matching Tiles

A great option for simultaneously developing phonics skills while improving shape vocabulary recall is to utilize some of our sets of Word Tiles.

This activity involves matching Phonics Sound Tiles to the sides of various Word Tiles. For example, a student would complete the 'heart' Word Tile by matching a 'h' Sound Tile to the left side of the Word Tile, a 't' Sound Tile to the right side, and an 'ar/ear' Sound Tile to the bottom.

Phonics Matching Tiles can be used for a variety of teaching demonstrations and various practice activities and friendly competitions. There are two sets of 12 tiles that include shapes. One set has a mix of colors and shapes and the other set includes directions, number & shapes.

Flags Cut-&-Glue Game

The Flags Cut-&-Glue Kits can be used for an activity that allows English language learns to simultaneously practice shapes alongside colors and positions, including "at the top of," "at the bottom of," "on the left side of," "on the right side of," and "in the middle of."

While students will get some exposure to various world flags, they do not need to know any names of countries in order to fully participate in this game.

Shape Opinions (Survey-Taking Activity)

The Shape Opinions Survey Activity is designed specifically to draw learners' attention to the nature of subjectivity. For this activity, students are given the task of showing one of a selection of images (created with shapes) to survey-takers, and asking them how many of each shape on their list the survey-taker can see in the image.

The survey-takers can be other students, parents, or anyone else capable of responding to the students' questions in English.

The materials for this activity include 20 shape based images of a variety of buildings, objectives, and vehicles, and a survey-taking sheet for each of the 20 images.

Shape Object Cards (Deduction Game)

The 20 shape-based image cards used in the above survey-taking activity can also be used to play a deduction card game that primarily uses shape vocabulary words. 

Played in partner-pairs of two, participants take turns being either the asker and the answerer. The answerer draws a single card from the set of 20 cards (but keeps it secret), while the asker lays out an identical set of the 20 cards in front of them. The asker then needs ask a series of simple questions to deduce which of the 20 shape-image cards in front of them matches the "secret card" held by the answerer.

The sentence pattern "Do you see any _________________?" is used by the asker in this game, with different shapes being systematically inserted into the blank. For follow up questions, the asker may also use the sentence pattern "How many _________________ do you see?" to find out any many of a specific shape the answerer sees in the image.

After using these sentence patterns to gather information, the asker can flip any cards that CAN'T be a match to the "secret card" face-down, until only one card remains face up.

"Train" Shape Builder Kit

This Interactive Builder Game requires one partner in each partner-pair to attempt to construct a train engine from colored shapes while following the instructions of their partner.

While it isn't necessary to use shape vocabulary while playing this game, teachers may be able to adjust the instructions/rules to make it necessary to incorporate shape vocabulary words.