Twenty-four flash cards, eight to a sheet. The fronts show the shapes: circle, oval, half circle, quarter circle, triangle, right triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon and octagon, then the cube, rectangular prism, sphere, cone, cylinder, triangular prism, square pyramid, triangular pyramid, pentagonal prism and hexagonal prism. The backs give each name and its attributes: sides and vertices for a flat shape, faces, edges and vertices for a solid, and what makes the shape, such as a square's 4 equal sides and 4 square corners. Print double-sided and flip on the long edge: the back sheets are laid out mirrored, so each card's back lands behind its front. On a printer that prints one side, choose Fronts only under Print, put the printed sheets back in the paper tray, then choose Backs only.
Hold up a card and ask for the shape's name, then for one thing that makes it that shape. For the solids, hand round real objects (a box, a ball, a can) to match with the cards. Younger children can start with the circle, square, triangle, rectangle and the cube, cone, cylinder and sphere, and add the rest later.
Go on a shape hunt: pick a card and find something at home with that shape. A cereal box is a rectangular prism; a can is a cylinder.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
Flash cards for naming flat and solid shapes, with each shape's picture on the front and its name and attributes on the back. Children name each shape, then turn the card over to check it and count its sides, vertices, faces and edges.
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