Fishing for Geometric Shapes

A sure-fire way to involve kids with marginal attention spans in both shape discrimination and eye-hand coordination practice. Needs close supervision.

Objectives

Children ages 4-5 years can name and match shapes Lang. IB
Children ages 2 can match identical shapes Cog. IIIA
and all children participating can, when asked, are able to find a certain shape and eye-hand coordination FM I

 

Materials

Numerous cut out fish with shape on side and paper clip in mouth (Children can make these at an earlier time.) Large blue cloth or paper for pond; cardboard shape frying pans on nearby table; Fishing poles: sticks with magnet attached to end of string (or wire for less tangling).

Procedures

1. Place fish on blue cloth on floor. Seat children on chairs around pond or behind a barrier (e.g., long table on its side). Give each child a fishing pole or use one pole and pass it around. Keep one for yourself if you want to demonstrate. "Look, I caught a circle fish! I'll cook it in the circle pan." Take turns have children show and tell what they catch. Prompt children to say complete sentences. ("I caught a (circle) fish." Younger children may simply say "circle.") After a fish is caught, have the successful angler "fry it up" in its matching frying pan.

2. Continue until each child has caught several fish. On succeeding turns, vary the challenges. Prompt the children to remember shapes they have caught and to try for different shapes. Can they fish for a shape that's like a window, a wheel, etc.? (If you run short of fish, they can jump off the frying pans back into the water.)

3. To vary the game, one child could be the "cook," standing behind the frying pans and telling each player what shape fish to catch.