FM.J.112 SORTS 3 SHAPES

Here is another sorting activity, this one involving shapes. Start with circles, squares and triangles, using materials similar to those used in FM.J.82 and FM.J.108.

How to Assess

Materials: 3 dishes, all the same colour (white or neutral dishes are best). 3 circles, 3 squares and 3 triangles. They may include a variety of colours, but if you have all the circles red, all the squares blue and all the triangles yellow, you will not know if your child has sorted by shape or by colour.

Method: Place the dishes on the table, with the shapes in a pile to one side. Demonstrate the activity, saying ‘Look, I’m putting all the circles in this dish, and all the squares in this dish, and all the triangles in this dish’. Remove all the shapes from the dishes, and direct your child to sort the shapes. Move a short distance away from your child while he does the activity, giving no more help than the occasional encouraging word or smile.

Score plus if your child correctly sorts all 9 shapes.

How to Teach

Teach as for FM.I.107. In the early stages, keep all 9 shapes the same colour. When your child can do this, introduce some colour variety, ensuring that your child continues to sort by shape rather than by colour.

Playtime and Round-the-house Activities

All kinds of objects can be sorted like this. A visit to the hardware shop will yield large washers, screws, nuts and bolts, plugs and brackets – all kinds of goodies that are fun for sorting. An older child’s construction toy will also provide scope. You can also use drawn shapes on squares of cardboard.

Remembering and Extending

You can make this activity more challenging by:

• Varying the shapes you present, including diamonds, rectangles and so on.
• Increasing the number of groups to be sorted.
• Asking your child to sort into piles rather than dishes, as in FM.J.111.
• Varying the sizes within each group of shapes, so that you have circles of different sizes, squares of different sizes and so on.