I had so much fun introducing students to three-dimensional shapes this week using the clever book Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes by Stuart J. Murphy.

“Captain Invincible and his intrepid space-dog, Comet, are on a perilous journey back to Earth!

Throughout their mission, the fearless captain and his canine sidekick encounter asteroids, poisonous gas, and alien beings. But will their knowledge of three-dimensional shapes, including cubes, cones, and pyramids, help our heroes navigate past these obstacles — and make it safely home.” (Amazon)

I introduced each three-dimensional shape with a poster and a corresponding foam block. The students had the opportunity to hold each of the shapes and discover the number of surfaces, edges, and faces.

We practiced sorting pictures of items, using the new vocabulary words we had learned. Students then had fun playing an alien-themed sorting game on the Smart Board.

To further demonstrate their understanding of three-dimensional shapes, students used the Seesaw app to find these shapes around the classroom. They were encouraged to label the shape using their best guess spelling or the spelling on the shape posters.

We even used the recording tool!

I loved how engaged the students were in these activities. There will be more three-dimensional shape fun to come!