Thursday, February 21, 2013

Circus Shapes

The book that we have chosen to share with everyone this week is called Circus Shapes.  The circus is in town and all of the children are excited to go, and really can you blame them?  The chance to see elephants, tigers, lions and bears, oh my!  Have you ever taken time out of your busy day to look at the world around you?  Have you ever noticed the different shapes that make up our homes, schools, or places of business?  Well, Circus Shapes is a great book that not only tells a story, but also teaches students the basic two dimensional shapes such as triangles, circles, squares, and rectangles.  This book not only teaches students about shapes, but it also allows them to see that shapes are all around us. 

 

We decided that this book would be a great book to teach to a kindergarten class.  The standard that we thought tied in most accurately with this book is MCCK.G.3 Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, “flat”) or three-dimensional (“solid”).  Circus Shapes does everything that this standard talks about and more.  “Some monkeys make a square.  The four sides are all the same.”  “White horses make a triangle, three corners and three sides.” While reading  this book to the class the teacher could ask the students to describe what is going on in each picture and ask direct questions such as “What shape are the horses making?”  During the closing of the lesson the teacher and students can together retell the story using the names of the shapes: “circle,” “triangle,” “square,” and “rectangle.” Reading this book to young students is a great way to get them engaged and excited when learning about shapes. 

6 comments:

  1. This book looks so cute. This book, I feel would defiantly keep students attention in the classroom. This book is a creative way to teach young students about shapes. The way you descried it, makes it sound like there is a lot of standard based information to teach in this book. The front cover show many shapes already, so I'm sure there is many shapes throughout the book to point out to your students. Great job with your blog!
    ---Meghan Ward

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  2. I have never heard of this book but it sounds really cute! It goes along with the math CCGPS.The book sounds like it would be great to teach children about their basic shapes and recognizing those shapes all around them. The cover is very colorful so I'm sure the illustrations throughout the book are colorful as well. I will definitely use this book in my classroom! Great blog! -Katie

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  3. This book sounds like an excellent book for Kindergarten while learning their shapes! What Kindergartener doesn't like animals, either?! I believe this book would benefit the students for the CCGPS standard you have chosen. It will allow them to learn the basic shapes they need to know to achieve higher levels of math later in their schooling! Great job! -Lindsay

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  4. I agree with using this book to teach the standard to a kindergarten classroom. It not only informs the students of the shapes but will also make them pay attention to what is around them and how all different kind shapes make up stuff around us. I think having the students tell you what is going on with each page and asking direct questions would be a great activity to use. This makes the kids expand their learning.-Dianne

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  5. This sounds like a great book to use to teach shapes. I have never heard of it but your blog was very interesting and made me want to read it! I love the circus theme and I am sure that the kids will love it too! By the looks of the cover I am sure the book is full of great illustrations. Great blog!
    -Fallyn

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  6. THis is a book that I have never heard of. I think that the circus theme will keep kids attention, and they will be able to relate to shapes that are used in the circus. This book goes along with the CCGPS standard that you have chosen. This book will allow the students to learn their shapes while having fun reading. - Tracy

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