Name and Select the 3D Shape

A 3D shape, also called a solid shape, is any shape that has length, width, and height, so it takes up space instead of lying flat on a page. Naming a 3D shape means looking at a solid object and saying what it is called, like "cube" or "sphere." Selecting a 3D shape means the opposite: hearing or reading a shape's name and then picking out the matching solid from a group of choices. Both skills work together, and practicing them helps children describe the world around them using math words.

Kindergarten students usually start with four or five solid shapes that show up often in everyday life. Each one has its own look and its own name.

A cube has six flat, square faces, straight edges, and sharp corners, like a building block. A sphere is perfectly round with one curved surface and no edges or corners at all, like a ball. A cylinder has two flat circle faces at the top and bottom with a curved surface wrapped around the middle, like a can. A cone has one flat circle face, one curved surface, and a single pointed tip, like an ice cream cone.

The easiest way to name a solid shape is to ask three simple questions about it.

• Does it roll? A sphere rolls in every direction, and a cylinder rolls only on its side.
• Does it have flat faces? A cube and a cylinder both have flat faces, but a cube's faces are all squares while a cylinder has two circle faces.
• Does it come to a point? A cone narrows to a single pointed tip, which no other basic solid shape has.

Working through these questions helps a child move past guessing and start reasoning about what makes each solid shape unique before naming it.

In a naming task, a picture of a solid is shown, and the student says or writes its name. In a selecting task, the name is given first, and the student circles, points to, or picks up the matching solid from a set of two or more choices. Selecting can be trickier because it often includes a shape that looks similar, such as mixing a sphere in with round-faced cylinders, so the student has to look closely instead of choosing the first round thing they see.

Solid shapes are everywhere once a child starts looking for them: a ball is a sphere, a tissue box is a cube or a rectangular prism, a soup can is a cylinder, and a party hat is a cone. Practicing with shapes of everyday objects is a great way to reinforce naming and selecting skills outside of a worksheet. It also helps to know how 3D shapes are different from flat shapes, which is covered in compare 2D and 3D shapes, and to see how the flat face of a solid connects to a 2D shape, which is explored in identify shapes traced from solids.

Picture four objects: a basketball, a shoebox, a party hat, and a can of beans. The basketball is a sphere because it is completely round with no flat parts. The shoebox is a cube-like shape (a rectangular prism) because it has flat rectangular faces and straight edges. The party hat is a cone because it has one flat circle base and comes to a point. The can of beans is a cylinder because it has two flat circle ends and a curved side. Naming each object this way, and then picking the right one when the name is given, is exactly the skill this topic builds.

Related lessons

• Kindergarten