Cover lesson · Expressive Arts · Year 1 · Beginner
LNF: Numeracy → Geometry and measurement → Shape and space
Name: Class: Date:
What this practises: making art from simple shapes and colour, the way some artists build pictures from shapes. Pupils name circles, triangles, squares and rectangles, talk about their sides and corners, count the shapes in a castle picture and then make their own shape picture. This is numeracy work on the properties of shapes.
Print: this sheet, one per pupil. You read Part 1 aloud; pupils only need Part 2 (the activity pages). Pencils and coloured pencils in yellow, red, blue and green. No computers are needed.
Run: 5 min hand out and set up · 10 min Step 1, meet the shapes · 5 min Step 2, shape hunt · 15 min Step 3, Task 1, the castle picture · 10 min Step 4, Tasks 2 and 3 · 10 min Step 5, Task 4, my shape picture · 5 min Step 6, Task 5 and share. Total 60 minutes.
Collect: the activity pages. The shape and space evidence is Task 1 (how many of each shape), Task 2 (sides and corners written in the boxes) and the Task 4 table (how many of each shape in their own picture). Quick checks: Task 1 has 3 circles, 3 triangles, 6 squares and 4 rectangles. Task 2: triangle 3 sides, 3 corners; square 4 sides, 4 corners; rectangle 4 sides, 4 corners; circle 0 straight sides, 0 corners. Task 3: the square is circled. Task 4: the numbers in the table match the shapes in the picture.
Read the words in the green boxes aloud. Draw a big circle, triangle, square and rectangle on the board before you start.
Hand out the activity pages, pencils and coloured pencils. Each table needs yellow, red, blue and green. Draw the 4 shapes big on the board and write the name under each one.
Say: “Today we are artists. Some artists make pictures from simple shapes. An artist called Paul Klee painted a picture called Castle and Sun that is made from lots of coloured shapes. Today we will look at a castle made from shapes, and then make our own.”
Show: point to the circle. Say: “This is a circle. It is round. It has one curved edge. It has no straight sides and no corners.”
Show: point to the triangle. Say: “This is a triangle. It has 3 straight sides and 3 corners.” Touch each corner and count with the class: “un, dau, tri. 1, 2, 3.”
Show: point to the square. Say: “This is a square. It has 4 straight sides and 4 corners. All 4 sides are the same length.”
Show: point to the rectangle. Say: “This is a rectangle. It has 4 straight sides and 4 corners too. But it has 2 long sides and 2 short sides.”
Do: “Stand up. Let’s draw shapes in the air with one finger.” Call out each shape and draw it in the air with them, counting the sides aloud for the triangle, square and rectangle. For the circle say “round and round, no corners”.
Ask: “Which shape has no corners?” (circle) “Which shape has 3 corners?” (triangle) “A square and a rectangle both have 4 sides. How are they different?” (the square’s sides are all the same; the rectangle has 2 long and 2 short sides)
Say: “Shapes are all around us. Look around the classroom. Can you find a shape? Point to it, but stay in your seat.”
Ask: 4 or 5 pupils: “What did you find? What shape is it? How do you know?” Help them use the words sides and corners, for example “The door is a rectangle because it has 2 long sides and 2 short sides.” Good things to find: the door, a window, the clock, the board, a book.
Say: “Wales has lots of castles, like Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. Castles have tall towers and a strong wall, and the top of the wall has bumps called battlements. Look at Task 1. This is not a real castle. It is a picture made only from circles, triangles, squares and rectangles.”
Show: the colour key in the table. Say: “Colour every circle yellow. Colour every triangle red. Colour every square blue. Colour every rectangle green.”
Do: do the first one together. Ask: “Find the sun. What shape is it?” (a circle) “So what colour?” (yellow) Ask: “What shape is the door?” (a rectangle, 2 long sides and 2 short sides) “So what colour?” (green)
Say: “When you have coloured the picture, count how many of each shape there are. Write the number in the box. Put a little dot on each shape as you count it, so you don’t count it twice.”
Walk round. Pupils often colour the little battlements green because they are on top of the wall: ask them to count the sides and check if all 4 sides are the same. Pupils sometimes miss the flag: ask “What is on top of the tower roof?”
Say: “Task 2. Count the straight sides of each shape and write the number. Then count the corners and write the number. Run your finger along each side as you count.”
Ask: “How many straight sides does a circle have?” (none, so we write 0) “How many corners?” (0)
Say: “Task 3. Three of these shapes are triangles. One is not. Draw a circle round the shape that is not a triangle.”
Ask: “Is the upside down one still a triangle?” Turn your sheet round to show them. Say: “Yes! It still has 3 sides and 3 corners. A triangle that is turned round is still a triangle.”
Say: “Now you are the artist. Make your own picture in the frame using only circles, triangles, squares and rectangles. You could make a dragon, a house or a castle.”
Show: the little dragon and house on the sheet. Ask: “What shapes can you see in the dragon?” (a rectangle body, a square head, triangle spikes, a circle eye)
Say: “Draw carefully so your triangles, squares and rectangles have straight sides and sharp corners. When you finish, count your shapes and fill in the table: how many circles, triangles, squares and rectangles did you use?”
Say: “Task 5. Trace the shape words with your pencil.”
Ask 2 or 3 pupils to hold up their picture from Task 4. Ask: “What shapes did you use? How many triangles? How do you know it is a square and not a rectangle?” Say: “Da iawn, artists! (Well done, artists!)”
| Shape | Colour | How many? |
|---|---|---|
| yellow | ||
| red | ||
| blue | ||
| green |
| Shape | Straight sides | Corners |
|---|---|---|
My shapes:
| Shape | How many? |
|---|---|
circle
square
triangle