What it shows
We can know shapes by their edges and corners, not only by looking. Feeling flat and solid shapes trains children to count sides, corners and curves.
The science
Every solid shape has features we can feel: a ball is round all over, a dice has flat faces, straight edges and sharp corners, and a bangle is a curve with a hole. When we feel an object we collect these clues and match them to a shape name. Talking about the clues builds the words used in geometry.
Materials
Cost: free. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- A cloth bag or an old sock
- Five or six small objects of different shapes, like a ball, dice, bangle, small box and cone (from the home)
- Paper and a pencil for score
- A friend or family member to play with
Safety
For this project: Use only soft, blunt objects with no sharp edges. An adult must choose the objects.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
All the safety rulesStep by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Collect five or six blunt objects of different shapes from around the house.
Put them in the bag without looking so your friend cannot see them.
Ask your friend to put one hand into the bag and hold one object only.
Your friend must say three things they feel, like round, flat or corners.
Let them guess the object and the shape name before pulling it out.
Give one point for each right guess and write the score on paper.
Swap places so you also guess by touch.
At the end, put all the objects on the table and sort them into those with corners and those without.
What you should see
Both players name shapes by touch and score points. The objects end up sorted into those with corners and those with only curves.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
1How can you tell a ball from a box by touch?
A ball is round with no corners, a box has flat faces and sharp corners.
2What is a corner?
A corner is the point where two edges meet.
3Name a shape with no corners.
A ball or a circle.
4Why is touching good for learning?
It gives us extra clues when our eyes cannot help us.
Take it further
Use flat cardboard cut-outs of triangle, square and circle and guess these in the bag too.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
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