Shapes Scavenger Hunt

Activity Overview

Geometry is fundamental to our lives. Developing a sense of shapes and the vocabulary we use to describe their attributes is foundational to mathematical thinking. Understanding unique qualities of individual shapes helps to provide context for how things are designed and engineered to work well for us. In this activity, students explore shapes in their everyday environment through a scavenger hunt!

What You Need

• A device for taking photographs

• Shape Tracker Sheet – you can view this electronically on a device or print it out if you’d like. If you print it, you’ll also need some crayons or markers.

• Be sure your child has an Epic Books account so they can access the story needed for this activity.

• Optional: Shape Mats from Shape Mats activity

Steps

1. Read the book I Know Shapes by Jon Welzen. As you read, discuss the items you see on each page and talk about the different shapes of these objects.

2. Go on a shape scavenger hunt in your home, outside in nature, or in your neighborhood! Take photographs of the different shapes you see (A circle clock, a rectangle door, a triangle street sign, a diamond kite). Find as many shapes as you can, and encourage locating multiples of each shape.

3. Sit down together with the photos you took during the scavenger hunt. View the Shape Tracker Sheet. Look through the sheet and discuss or mark the shapes you found (If you found a circle-shaped object, you can verbally indicate that you found a circle, check it off, or color in the circle). You can also tally how many objects of each shape you found by counting your pictures and writing tally marks under the shape.

4. As you search for shapes, keep in mind that some shapes may easily stand out (such as a circle clock) while others may take a little more investigation to find (such as a rectangle in between two strings on a ukulele). Encourage your child to find shapes in whichever way they can!

Guiding Questions

• What shapes do you know? Can you make it in the air with your fingers? Can you draw it?

• What is that in the picture? What shape is it?

• Is the shape straight, curved, round, pointy?

• Does the shape have sides? Corners? Points?

• Where in your home have you seen this shape?

• Where outside have you seen this shape?

• Can you find a [circle]? How many [circles] can you find?

• What shapes did you find during the scavenger hunt? What objects did you find them in?

• Were some shapes easier to find than others? Why might that be?

Extensions

• As you read the story or discuss the shapes you found during your scavenger hunt, use your Shape Mats to identify each shape.

• Go on a number scavenger hunt! What numbers can you find?