Studying shapes: lesson ideas for kids

Shapes are important to study not only during geometry classes but English lessons as well. If students know the names of shapes they can describe objects around much easier. So let’s teach shapes to our kids in a funny way! 

Here are some lesson ideas to inspire you.

Vocabulary introduction activities: 

Funny songs

YouTube is an irreplaceable source of amazing videos for kids. Almost every single channel specialized in teaching English for kids has a video about shapes. Here they are:

— Super Simple Songs

— Pinkfong

— The Singing Walrus

— Cocomelon 

You may choose the song you like the most. As for me, my favourite one is Dancing shapes.

Turn it on, let your students listen and then try to sing it together. It’s great to use it not only during classes but also as a background sound during the day.

Cartoons

Cartoons are always great especially with toddlers. It’s a great chance both to have fun and remember new words. Here are some shapes cartoons from YouTube:

— Learn Shapes with Tino

— Choo-Choo Train

— Caillou Learns the Shapes

Remember, that cartoons should be used as an educational source, so it’s not enough just to turn them on. You have to make pauses, talk to children and analyze everything you’ve just watched.

Flashcards

Convenient and bright, flashcards are teachers’ best friends. You may find different ideas in Pinterest and Twinkl (one of the best resources for kids). 

I especially like flashcards with everyday examples. It’s very effective because children explore the world looking and touching objects around.

Poems

Again, Pinterest helps us a lot. You can find some simple poems if you click here. Learning them by heart is a nice idea to train your students’ memory. But before that, don’t forget to read it out loud. The TPR method can be really effective here.

Practice and production activities:

Dienes logic blocks

This simple set helps to diversify your classes. You can study shapes as well as colours and size using blocks. They also help to organize games. 

It’s easier for kids to learn vocabulary while playing. Here is an idea:

— Construct animals using blocks

— Name shapes you used

Seguin form board

This kind of activity is also popular nowadays and is widely used in Russian kindergartens. It teaches kids to think logically. This set is a great one to teach shapes in English.

Drawing

This idea is really easy to realize as you don’t need to spend money and time on it.

If you teach offline, just use paper and pencils.

If you work online, here is a source to make drawing possible. Talking about activities themselves, here they are:

1. draw something using some shapes (a teacher can name them himself/herself)
2. colour shapes
   

Modelling clay shapes

In fact, creative activities attract kids. Their parents are also happy not only to know but to touch what their child learns. Try to practice new vocabulary by making shapes using modelling clay.

Online games

If you work online, you definitely need some tools to make your production activities interesting.

Here they are:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Describing pictures

This kind of activity is easy to organize both online and offline. All you need is a colourful picture, e.g.

If you work with children under 6 it’s better to ask questions that may help them, for example:

“What is yellow and round?”

“What colour is the bat?”

If your students are older, they are probably able to describe objects themselves. It’s a nice activity that allows combining several topics.