Shape Walks: Seeing Shapes in Our World

Objective:

For young children to observe, record, and create collections of shapes in their world and increase their powers of observation.

Research Questions:

What shapes do you see in the world around you? Look carefully – they are hidden everywhere! (This makes a nice “sight” component for a larger project on the five senses. See also the Color Walks science fair project.)

Materials:

1. Nice days for walks
2. Simple, inexpensive digital camera (one that young children can use)
3. Computer printer (or a print shop)
4. Poster board or 8.5x11 card stock and string or stapler
5. Glue
6. Marker

Experimental Procedure:

1. Choose a “shape of the day.”
2. Go for a walk in your neighborhood looking for that shape.
3. Whenever you find an example of the shape, take a photograph of it.
4. Later, print out photos of your best examples.
5. Using the photographs, posterboard, and glue, make a poster for that shape. (You may want to label the poster with a drawing of and the word for that shape.)
6. Alternatively, use the card stock to create a book (instead of a poster) of your shape.
7. Repeat as often as you like for as many shapes as you like. When you get a nice collection of these posters or books side by side, they become quite striking!

Terms/Concepts: five senses, sense of sight, shape, circle, square, triangle, etc.

For more practice, play the Shape Twister Game!