One of the best things about teaching kindergarten is getting to use thematic teaching for just about everything. I love themed activities for all topics and shapes are no different! During the fall, we spend a lot of time diving into shapes to lay the foundation for our math lessons for the year. Today I am sharing all of my favorite fall shape activities!
The key to helping children succeed with shape recognition and identification is practice, practice, practice! Children need many opportunities to work on shapes. This doesn’t mean it needs to be boring though! I use a variety of fun, hands-on games and shape activities in my classroom for engaged learning.
1. Color By Code Shape Activities
Color by code is a great way to practice a variety of skills. I especially love color-by-code worksheets for shape recognition!
My students always get a kick out of seeing the picture after it’s been fully colored in and get plenty of practice identifying shapes in the process.
I find these are great morning activities to have out when students are arriving. They are self-contained at a table, take more than just a few minutes to complete, and help children ease into a full day of learning!
The color-by-code activities I like to use feature fun fall pictures that fall in line with our seasonal theme. Students have the opportunity to color apples, scarecrows, leaves, pumpkins, and more! When using this activity, I like to have my students check their work with the answer key when they have finished.
2. Shape Discrimination Activities
At the beginning of the year, it can be hard for children to spot the difference between shapes. For this reason, I like to incorporate plenty of shape activities that focus on visual discrimination.
To practice this skill, I use game mats that have a variety of shapes around the border and one large shape in the center. To play, students will identify the large shape in the center and then use a bingo marker, pattern block, or clothespin to mark the matching shapes.
This is a great activity to introduce to your small groups. By working closely with children, you can ask questions that promote deeper thinking about what makes the shapes different. You might ask what is different about a circle from a square, how many sides a triangle has, and how to tell the difference between an oval and a circle. After students have the hang of this activity, it works wonderfully for independent practice as well!
3. Fall Shape BINGO
Everyone loves BINGO, so this one is a no-brainer. Playing BINGO offers a fun, group option for your shape activities and will guarantee student engagement.
In my room, I like to save this activity for the end of the day as a way to celebrate our hard work.
I typically run this game in small groups but it can work with your whole class, depending on how many kiddos you have.
I like to laminate my BINGO boards and call cards ahead of time so we can use this shape activity all season long.
You can also switch this up a little and choose a student to be the “BINGO caller” and let them run the show. This is a sought-after position in my classroom and provides a great opportunity for learning!
4. Fall Shape Match It
This game is an excellent independent center activity to help practice shapes. For this activity, each student will get a game mat and colored snap cubes.
Students will use the code on the side of their mat to match up the correct colored snap cube on each shape. Students will continue identifying and matching until their game board is all filled in.
Alternatively, sometimes I print out a black and white version of the shape game mats and have students use crayons to make their own code and then color the shapes accordingly.
This is a wonderful activity to sneak in whenever you have just a few minutes to spare.
5. “Bump” Shape Game
Classroom games are a great way to engage your littles and help them learn their shapes. I play one with my kiddos pretty frequently called “Bump”. This is a super simple game but my students always LOVE it!
To play each student starts with 10 cubes. One student will spin the spinner and place their cube on the matching shape.
If there is already a cube on that shape, the student can “bump” it off and claim that shape. The first player to use all of their cubes wins!
Students love this game and there are always plenty of giggles when we play. I like to ask my students to say the name of the shape before they can put their cube down to get some extra practice with shape names.
You can play this in small groups or assign kiddos to work in pairs.
Even More Shape Activities
These 5 activities are just a few of my favorites, there are many more that I like to use in my classroom during the fall season to help my students learn their shapes. I have noticed that the more variety I offer, the easier it is to keep my kiddos engaged!
I like to introduce these games slowly over time to allow my students a chance to learn the rules of each. Doing so will reduce confusion and encourage independence with these activities. Some of the other games I like for teaching shapes include:
- Dominoes
- Roll & Cover
- Count the Shapes
- Count & Graph
- Spin and Color
- Spin and Graph
- Clip Cards
- Puzzle Cards
These shape activities help keep learning our shapes fun and engaging! Using a blend of independent learning centers and whole group games is the key to success with shapes. Children learn so much from playing as a group and watching their friends and then moving on to independent practice.
Try Fall Shape Activities In Your Room
Do you want to try out some of these shape activities with your students? You can find all of the activities mentioned in this post in my Fall Shapes resource. This HUGE classroom resource is filled with center games and activities for mastering 2D shapes, perfectly themed for use all throughout the fall.
These activities are great for morning tubs, centers, independent work, and whole group games! I have also included a black and white version for every game so that you can use crayons to complete the pages or use the full-color options with manipulatives. Mastering shapes will be a snap with these hands-on, engaging activities!
Shape Activities For All Seasons
While I love introducing shapes to my students in the fall, it’s a good idea to practice them throughout the year to keep the information top of mind. If you’re looking for more fun seasonal shape activities, be sure to check out these blog posts for ideas!
The great thing about thematic teaching is that you practice the same concept multiple times while offering the information in a new and exciting format. I love that I can practice shapes all year long with my students through the use of different, seasonal themes.
Save This Post
Don’t forget to save this post on your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you’ll be all set when it comes time to plan your shape activities this fall!
