Faces of Three-Dimensional Objects – Grade One
Ohio Standards
Connection
Geometry and Spatial
Sense
Benchmark B
Describe solid objects:
cube, rectangular prism,
sphere, cylinder, cone and
pyramid, and identify them
in the environment.
Indicator 3
Identify the shapes of the
faces of three-dimensional
objects.
Mathematical Processes
Benchmark I
Communicate
mathematical thinking by
using everyday language
and appropriate
mathematical language.
Lesson Summary:
In this lesson, students recognize models of three-dimensional
objects. Students describe and draw the shapes of the faces of
three-dimensional objects. They also sort three-dimensional objects
using the shapes of the faces of the objects. Follow-up the lesson
with activities where students hunt for shapes in the school
environment to reinforce the geometric concepts.
Estimated Duration: One hour
Commentary:
As students first learn geometric concepts, shapes and figures are
recognized by their physical appearance, not by their parts or
properties. (Crowley, 1987) Once students develop this
understanding, they can begin to analyze figures by their parts.
Through observation students can identify and then sort figures by
the shape of its faces. Provide purposes for learning these
geometric concepts by posing situations for sorting and exploring
objects in the students’ environment. (Crowley, 1987)
Pre-Assessment:
Students should be able to recognize and identify two-dimensional
shapes prior to this lesson. Use activities or prior assessments of
two-dimensional shapes to determine if students are ready for
instruction. Activities may include:
 drawing circles, rectangles, squares and triangles
 creating shapes on geoboards
 identifying shapes from a set of pattern blocks or tangrams
 sorting a set of circles, rectangles, squares and triangles
Scoring Guidelines:
Students who recognize and identify two-dimensional shapes from
different perspectives are ready for the lesson. Use the lesson to
reinforce concepts of two-dimensional shapes if students are unable
to or inconsistent in recognizing and identifying two-dimensional
shapes. Provide intervention for students who name the shapes
correctly, but may use incorrect terms in describing the shape.
Post-Assessment:
Assess students in small groups by giving each group several threedimensional objects, such as cones, cubes, cylinders, prisms,
pyramids and spheres. Ask the students to sort the objects using
two-dimensional shapes. For example, sort the objects into two
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Faces of Three-Dimensional Objects – Grade One
groups, objects with square faces and objects not having square faces. Give students a model and
have them draw and name the faces of the object. Ask questions about the shape of faces
students may not see. For example, set a pyramid on the table and ask them to identify the shape
of the face not seen.
Scoring Guidelines:
Use the rubric to describe the level of performance.
Performance Level Description of performance
Exceeds
Draws each face of the three-dimensional object without tracing around
Expectations
the object
Identifies and recognizes the shapes of the faces from different
perspectives and may make predictions of the shape of faces not seen
Meets Expectations Identifies the shapes of the faces of the three-dimensional shapes
Intervention
Identifies objects inconsistently or needs to trace around the object to
Needed
identify the shape
May experience difficulty when objects are in various orientations
Instructional Procedures:
Instructional Tip:
Create collections of representations of three-dimensional objects, such as potato chip or oatmeal
canisters, empty boxes of crackers or cereal, cone-shaped paper cup, balls and pyramids for each
pair or small group of students.
1. Show students a model of a rectangular prism, such as a box or block. Have the students
search the room for objects that are like the rectangular prism. Select students to share their
object. Ask questions such as:
 What object did you find?
 Why did you choose it?
 How is it like this object?
 How is it different?
2. Ask students how many sides the object has. Tell students that the sides are called faces in
mathematics.
3. Ask students to describe the faces of the object. Select students to describe the face.
Responses may include the names of shapes. Record the responses on chart paper.
4. Provide pairs of students with the model of the rectangular prism. Ask students to think about
how to prove the shape of the face. Students may suggest tracing around the solid. Allow
each student to trace around the object to verify the descriptions.
5. Present other three-dimensional objects for students to explore. Have them identify the
shapes of the faces and find objects in the room like the object. Ask questions such as:
 Can you find another three-dimensional object that has a face like this object (triangular
prism)?
 Can you find another three-dimensional object that is like this object (sphere)?
 Do all three-dimensional objects have the same number of faces?
 Are there three-dimensional objects that do not have faces? (sphere)
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Faces of Three-Dimensional Objects – Grade One
6. Have partners sort a collection of three-dimensional objects. If there are not enough sets of
objects, set up a center and work with students in small groups. Ask students to describe how
they sorted the objects. Encourage students to use the shapes of faces to sort the objects.
7. Have students draw shapes for the faces on a sheet of paper. Some students may be able to
draw the shapes without seeing all of the sides. Some may need to trace around the object.
Encourage students to draw without tracing. Provide rulers if students are able to draw using
a ruler. Ask students to identify the shapes of the faces while observing and walking around
the room.
Differentiated Instructional Support:
Instruction is differentiated according to learner needs, to help all learners either meet the intent
of the specified indicator(s) or, if the indicator is already met, to advance beyond the specified
indicator(s).
 Provide pictures of two-dimensional shapes to use as a guide when identifying the shape of
faces. Allow the student to try to match the face of the solid with the picture.
 Allow tracing around the object in the post-assessment.
Extensions:
 Have students work with partners to build towers with geometric objects. One student builds
a tower and describes the tower to a partner. The partner tries to build a replica of the tower
without seeing it. As the student describes the tower, listen for the use of shapes when
describing faces of the objects.
 Play an “I Spy” game with three-dimensional objects. Have students search for objects that
have the attribute or shape of a face described. Select students to share examples and lead the
game.
Home Connections:
Have students write a list of objects found in the home or community that are like cones, cubes,
cylinders, prisms, pyramids and spheres.
Materials and Resources:
The inclusion of a specific resource in any lesson formulated by the Ohio Department of
Education should not be interpreted as an endorsement of that particular resource, or any of its
contents, by the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio Department of Education does not
endorse any particular resource. The Web addresses listed are for a given site’s main page,
therefore, it may be necessary to search within that site to find the specific information required
for a given lesson. Please note that information published on the Internet changes over time,
therefore the links provided may no longer contain the specific information related to a given
lesson. Teachers are advised to preview all sites before using them with students.
For the teacher: model of rectangular prism, objects that have the shape of cones, cubes,
cylinders, prisms, pyramids and spheres.
For the student: sets of three-dimensional geometric objects
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Faces of Three-Dimensional Objects – Grade One
Vocabulary:
 face
 three-dimensional
Technology Connections:
Use software with three-dimensional objects for students to view and describe.
Research Connections:
Arter, Judith and Jay McTighe. Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom: Using Performance Criteria
for Assessing and Improving Student Performance. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, 2001.
Crowley, Mary L. The van Heile Model of the Development of Geometric Thought. Learning and
Teaching Geometry, K-12. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. (1987): 1-16.
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