Fun Geometry Activity on Composition of Shapes Using a Picture Book

A cardboard box filled with colorful foam shapes next to two sheets of paper decorated with foam shapes, and a children's book titled 'Mouse Shapes' by Ellen Stoll Walsh on a wooden floor.

Are you looking for a fun, little lesson to teach geometry concepts to your preschoolers, kindergartners or first graders? If so, check out this shape art activity that uses Ellen Stoll Walsh’s picture book Mouse Shapes. This math activity can easily be used in a homeschool setting or when you have a little extra time in the classroom. It’s really short, sweet, and doesn’t take much prep or clean up.

Note: The math and ELA standards used in this easy math activity align to the Common Core and are listed at the end of this post.

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Step 1: Read Ellen Stoll Walsh’s Mouse Shapes.

A small plush mouse beside a colorful pile of foam shapes including hearts, stars, and geometric figures on a white sheet of paper.

Read the picture book Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Wash. Use your typical Pre-reading, During Reading, and Post Reading strategies. Here is an example of questions to ask:

Pre-reading

Predict what you think the book will be about? What makes you think that?

Reading

Spread 1

Do you think the mice will escape the cat? Explain.
If so, predict how they will escape the cat.
Where does the story take place? What is the setting?
Who are the main characters in the book?
What do you think the main problem of the book will be?

Spread 2

Do you think shapes are a good place for mice to hide? Why or why not?

Spread 3

Did their plan work? Explain your reasoning.

Spread 4

How can you combine things to make shapes? What do you know about squares? What do you know about triangles?

Spread 5

How is a rectangle different than a square? What do you know about circles?

Spread 6

Why are triangles tricky?

Spread 7

What’s the mathematical name for a diamond?

Spread 8

What do you think will happen next? Explain.

Spread 9

Why do they think their cat looks better than the real cat? Explain.
How do the illustrations help you understand the story?

Spread 10

Did you expect the cat to come back? Why or why not?

Spread 11

Predict what you think Violet’s idea is going to be?

Spread 12

Do you think the cat will be afraid of their mice? Explain.
What shapes did they use to make the mice?

Spread 13

Did their plan work? Explain.

Spread 14

What does it mean to be a scaredy-cat?
Do you think their mouse will like Swiss cheese?

Spread 15

What shapes did they use to make the cheese?

Post-Reading

Who are the main characters in the story?
Where does the story take place (setting)?
What was the major event in the story?
Retell the story.
How do the illustrations help you understand the story?

Step 2: Reread Ellen Stoll Walsh’s Mouse Shapes.

A plush mouse toy sitting on a colorful assortment of foam shapes in a cardboard box.

During this 2nd reading discuss the types of shapes that are in the book. Have students name the shapes regardless of their orientation. Ask them more math questions about the shapes. It might be helpful to project the book pages under an Elmo or similar device.

Step 3: Create Designs by Composing Shapes.

Give students shape stickers and a piece of paper. Have students create a picture using the shapes. Make sure your shape stickers include a variety of geometric shapes such as triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, etc.

Here’s a picture of the foam shape stickers I bought off of amazon. Notice that they have mathematical shapes like trapezoids and different types of triangles and rectangles in addition to hearts and stars etc.

A cardboard box filled with various colorful foam shapes, with a small white mouse figure sitting on top.

Here’s a picture of what my four-year-old son created. Notice how he made a house out of a square and a rectangle. As your students get more familiar with the shape stickers, challenge them to do more complicated shapes. Since we now have the shape stickers, we will repeat this activity in the future whenever I need a filler of something to do. 😁

An arrangement of colorful foam shapes including circles, triangles, a heart, a pentagon, and other geometric figures on a white background.

Step 4: Ask Mathematical Questions.

Ask questions about their shape art pictures such as the following:

What shapes do you see in your picture?
How many corners does this shape have?
How many sides does this shape have?
Do any of your shapes have all equal signs?
What shape is above the square? What shape is behind this shape? Etc?

Standards of Mathematical Practice #6: Attend to precision.

dart board hanging on a wall — Photo by Jeff Danila on Pexels.com

This is a great level to work on math practice standard #6: Attend to precision. In this math practice standard, precision is just as much about language as it is about numbers and quantities. As students are growing and formalizing their mathematical vocabulary, they move from ideas such as a triangle has three sides to that there are specific types of triangles such as equilateral triangles. Or they may move from using vocabulary such as corners to more precise vocabulary such as vertices. In the younger grades, students should not be assessed on precise language, but it is certainly appropriate for the teacher to model correct vocabulary. With exposure some students will start using more precise mathematical language naturally.

Step 5: More Shape Composition

Give students specific shapes and then have them create specific pictures. For example, ask students to create a rectangle using two triangles. Or have them make a new triangle in two different ways, etc.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this easy math activity! It’s a fun, light-hearted geometry lesson that has a lot of layers of learning. Plus using picture books to teach math concepts increases student engagement as it activates students’ imagination. The math lesson can easily be scaffolded to various ability levels within a classroom or homeschool setting by adapting the questions and expectations around the shape art.

More Free Lesson Ideas

woman in gray shirt sitting beside girl in yellow shirt — Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

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Common Core Standards

Kindergarten

Here is a list of the Common Core Math Standards for Kindergarten:

CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.A.1: Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.A.2: Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.4: Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/”corners”) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.B.6: Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes. For example, “Can you join these two triangles with full sides touching to make a rectangle?”

Here is a list of the Common Core ELA Standards for Kindergarten:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.2: With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.3: With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.7: With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.10: Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.

Here is a list of the Common Core Math Standards for First Grade:

CCSS.Math.Content.1.G.A.1: Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation, overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.
CCSS.Math.Content.1.G.A.2: Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create a composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.¹

Here is a list of the Common Core ELA Standards for First Grade:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2: Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7: Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.10: With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.

Using ‘Mouse Shapes’ to Teach Shape Composition