Lindsey Noye and Shannon Krebs

Rodgers Elementary School

Serhat Erumit, Sp 2016

Paulsen, First Grade

Math Lesson Plan #1: Shapes Within Shapes

Lesson Objectives:
Students will learn that shapes can be made out of other shapes.
Students will learn how to count a specific amount of different types of shapes that they use.
Students will learn the names and properties of some shapes.
State Standards:
1.G.1: Identify objects as two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Classify and sort twodimensional and three-dimensional objects by shape, size, roundness and other attributes.
Describe how two-dimensional shapes make up the faces of three-dimensional objects.
1.G.2: Distinguish between defining attributes of two- and three-dimensional shapes (e.g.,
triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation,
overall size). Create and draw two-dimensional shapes with defining attributes.
1.G.3: Use two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles,
and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right
circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new
shapes from the composite shape. [In grade 1, students do not need to learn formal names
such as "right rectangular prism."]
PS.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively
PS.5: Use appropriate tools strategically
Lesson Prerequisites and pre-assessment of students:
Students need to know names and properties of common shapes.
To determine what the students already know we have done FAI questions with them for two
weeks, observed two math lessons in their classroom, and examined through video the ways
in which students answer questions about shapes.
Materials
Coloring book pages with shapes making up the drawings.
Outlines of different shapes.
Pattern blocks
Launch
To start off the lesson we will do a quick review of what was discussed in the classroom the
week before. The students will be gathered around on the carpet in front of the projector and we
will slide images of the shapes that they learned about in front of the projector and have the
students yell out the names of each shapes. This will help the students to remember the names

and properties of the shapes, so that they will be ready for the activity to come. After doing this
we will introduce what the objectives of our lessons will be. We will discuss how shapes can be
made out of different shapes and then using the projector we will show them a shape and how
other shapes can make it up. We will have about three examples of this that we will share with
the class.
Approximate Time: 10 minutes
Investigation
Next, we will transition to our first activity by having the students all go back to their desks. At
their tables there will be different printed out shapes and pattern block. Each student will get one
of the printed out shapes and a pile of pattern blocks. They will then work individually to try and
fill the printed out shape with the pattern blocks in front of them. Once the students start to finish
up we will show a couple examples of the work of some students on the projector to help the
students to further understand how shapes can make up other shapes.
Approximate Time: 10 minutes
After the students have completed our first activity, we will then have them stay at their desks
and face the projector. On the projector we will place a coloring book page that has a picture
that is made up of different shapes (refer to coloring book page example at end of lesson plan).
We will explain that the students will be coloring each of the different shapes in the picture a
different color (all triangles will be blue, all squares will be red, etc.) and when they are finished
coloring they will write how many of each of the shapes there were in their picture. We will then
place enough coloring book pages on each of the tables for each student to get one. As the
students are working on the coloring book pages we will all be walking around the room to see if
students have any questions about the activity. Once the students start to finish up we will use
some of the coloring book pages as examples to show the class. This will once again reiterate
how shapes can be used to create different shapes.
Approximate Time: 15 Minutes

Summarize
After the students are all done with their coloring book pages and we share some examples of
them, we will then discussed what we learned today. We can ask the class questions such as:
What kind of shapes did you see in the coloring book page in front of you?
What kind of shapes did you see the most of in your coloring book pages and why do you think
that was?
Is it possible to make every object we see around us out of other shapes?
After we ask the students these review questions we will summarize what they were saying and
we will reiterate how important it is to always remember that you can make up shapes out of
other shapes. This will conclude our lesson and Ms. Paulsen take over from here.

Adaptations:
Gearing Up: To gear up this lesson, we could just ask the students what shapes make
up another shape, like a triangle. This would take away the demonstration that we would
do where we show them how some shapes make up other shapes. This will make the
lesson more challenging because the students will have to really think about what
shapes can fit into other ones. Also, for the first activity that we are doing, as we walk
around we could ask students why they chose to place certain shapes where they did.
This will get the students really thinking about the properties of the shapes and their
reasoning for putting them in the bigger shapes.
Gearing Down: To gear this lesson down, we could show more examples of the
activities to the students, so that they get a better idea about what is expected of them.
Also, we could have the students work with their table groups to complete the activities.
This will give the students a chance to hear other perspectives and to have that support
of their table to help them with the activity.
References: Investigations Unit

Triangles

Blue

Squares

Red

Rectangles

Green

Circles

Yellow

Rhombus

Black

Trapezoid

Purple

Hexagon

Pink

Shape

Number of Shape
in Picture

Triangle
Square
Rectangle
Circle
Rhombus
Trapezoid
Hexagon

Shannon Krebs and Lindsey Noye

Serhat, Spring 2016

Rodgers Elementary School

Paulsen, Grade 1

Math Lesson Plan #5: Making Puzzles With More or Less Shapes

Lesson Objective(s):
Students will learn to compose shapes with the least amount of other shapes possible, as well as
with multiple different shapes.
District Outcome(s) and/or State/National Standard(s)

1.G.3: Use two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles,

and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right
circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new
shapes from the composite shape. [In grade 1, students do not need to learn formal names
such as "right rectangular prism."]
PS.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Lesson Prerequisites and pre-assessment of students:

Students need to know the names and properties of shapes we have been working with in
previous lessons, as well as how to piece them together to make one larger shape.

To determine what the students already know we have done FAI questions for four weeks,
observed four math lessons for four weeks in the classroom, and examined through video the ways
students understand shapes and their properties.
Materials:

Shapes cut out from construction paper

Glue

Launch
To start off the lesson we are going to have all of the students on the carpet in front of the overhead
projector. Each student with have a pile of different shapes in front of them. We will then name different
properties of shapes and the students will all have to hold up the shape from their pile that we are
describing. We will do this for all of the different shapes. This will help the students to remember the
different properties of shapes. We will then introduce the objective of our lesson, which will be to build
different shapes with the most and least amount of shapes. After this, we will send the students back to
their desks for our first activity.
Approximate Time: 10 minutes

Investigation
Once the students go back to their desks, there will be many big shapes at their each table. We will then
place different puzzles on the overhead projector for the students to make with their table groups using
the shapes. After the students have completed the puzzles, we will then ask them to try and complete the
puzzle using the smallest amount of shapes that they can. Once the students have done this, we will then
ask them to complete the puzzles using the most amount of shapes that they can. Throughout this time if

one table group is finishing faster than the others they can do different puzzles. Also, we will be bring
some student work up to the projector to show how some tables are solving the puzzles.
Approximate Time: 15 minutes
Once the students have completed to puzzles, we will then move on to our next activity. This activity will
involve the students building their ideal pizza. We will place a variety of shapes in front of them, which will
represent different parts of the pizza (cheese, pepperoni, etc.). The students will then use these different
shapes to create a pizza. They will also be allowed to glue the pieces together so that they can keep their
pizzas. Throughout this activity we will be showing some of the pizzas on the overhead projector and ask
the class what shapes were used to create the different pizzas. This activity will show the students how
they can make other things out of different types of shapes.
Approximate Time: 10 minutes

Summarize
After the students are finished with their pizzas, we will keep the students at their desks and asks them
some concluding questions. We will have the students look at their pizzas and then we will have them
raise their hands to tell us what shapes they used for their pizzas. After that we will ask them where they
see these shapes in their everyday lives. This will help the students connect what they learned in the
classroom about shapes to what they see everyday around them.
Approximate Time: 5 minutes

Adaptations:
Gearing Up: If students finish their puzzles more quickly than others, we will have additional, more
challenging puzzles for them to try until their classmates are done. These challenging puzzles can also be
used for the whole class if the initial puzzles are too easy.
Gearing Down: If the puzzles are too difficult for students, we will have them make shapes out of other
shapes instead of creating a complex picture. For example, they could use six of their triangles to create a
hexagon as a group.
Reference(s): Investigation Unit