Build on your children's growing understanding of the properties of 3D shape with this series of five practical 3D Shapes Year 2 Maths lessons focusing on geometry. Your class will identify and name 3D shape properties including vertices, edges and, faces through a range of practical activities.

Included with every downloadable lesson is a detailed plan with a choice of differentiated activities, a slide show presentation and a range of printables such as challenge cards, games and worksheets.

Counting Corners

The first lesson in this Year 2 properties of 3D shapes series focuses on corners and vertices. Your class will have the opportunity to describe some differences between 3D shapes using mathematical vocabulary.

Your children's growing bank of maths vocabulary will expand while they learn about the faces, edges and corners of 3D shapes, introducing them to the words 'vertex' and 'vertices'. Depending on which of the included activities you choose to do, children may then either sort, label and describe shapes or play a 'Secret Shapes' game!

This downloadable lesson contains a lesson plan, a slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources.

View Lesson 1

Describing Shapes

Continue to build on children's growing knowledge of the properties of 3D shape, this time focusing on the corners (vertices) and edges. Challenge your class to describe 3D shapes as they visualise how 3D shapes might be constructed using toys or scrap materials. Depending on the activity you choose, they may then go on to either make 'wireframe' shapes or work in groups to produce giant mind maps to show what they understand about 3D shapes.

This downloadable lesson contains a lesson plan, slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources.

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Faces

Use the included slides with this 3D Shape Faces lesson to explore the differences between some common shapes with only flat faces and those with some curved surfaces.

Go on to challenge children to visualise common 3D shapes and describe the shapes of their faces before they undertake one of the two suggested shape games!

This downloadable lesson includes a lesson plan, slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources.

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Special Shapes

Explore 3D shapes such as prisms and cuboids with this Year 2 3D Shapes lesson. Learn that some 3D shapes have special properties including opposite faces. Discover what 'opposite' actually means when we are learning about the faces of 3D shapes. Explore ways of describing shapes according to whether or not they have opposite faces, among other properties, with either of the two suggested activities.

This downloadable lesson includes a lesson plan, a slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources.

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Everyday Objects

It's surprising how few everyday objects are actually the same shape as those 'perfect' maths geometric shapes we all use! This lesson explores the idea that everyday objects may be made up of several simple shapes, or that they may be shapes that are similar to, but not exactly like the regular geometric shapes children have been learning about.

Through either of the suggested activities, children can explore these ideas and develop fluency when describing the properties of everyday 3D objects.

This downloadable lesson comes with a lesson plan, slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources.

View Lesson 5