April 12, 2010

Squares in a Shape


To get ready for this activity, take 5 0r 10 square blocks (or cut squares from foam or paper if you don't have the blocks) and arrange them in a shape on a piece of paper. Trace around the outside of the shape.

Then, I gave B 5 squares (and 10 for the larger shapes) and said, "Here are 5 squares, can you figure out how they fit into this shape?" At first he was putting them inside the shape but not paying attention to the lines. After I showed him how to do a few he caught on was able to do the rest by himself. When we finished he said "I want to do more of these!".


You can also estimate how many squares will fit into the shape first and then check your prediction.


I love how simple this activity is to put together and how you can easily vary the difficulty level.

This activity idea was found at Joyful Learner (link no longer available). 





5 comments:

  1. Cute, Simple Idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. The orange squares make the activity look so warm and inviting (vs. the darker shade of blue tiles)! You can also ask him to make a shape and outline it. So much fun! Thanks for linking me!

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  3. Love it! Aiden loves playing with our Math-u-see blocks and this would be a great activity to occupy him while I'm trying to help my daughter with her math!

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  4. I also thought that this idea is great, but I am yet to implement it.

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  5. Wonderful idea! You can really go off in many directions with this:)

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