Transcript

Text on screen: 3–5 years. Composing and Decomposing Shapes.

Logo: Count, play, explore – for early education.

Maritza Ceballos, PreK Educator: They’ve gotten very good about identifying and naming the shapes. And so then when we do the other activity where they’re matching and they’re using shapes, like flat shapes to create pictures, they’re able to see like the composition of where the shapes fit. And just kind of figuring out if they can’t find the specific shape, they can utilize two other shapes that might make, you know, like the two triangles that might make a square. That’s called a hexagon. Match the hexagons.

On screen: Maritza sits at a table with five children. In the center of the table is a clear bin containing pattern blocks—or a collection of shapes in different colors, like orange squares, yellow hexagons, and blue rhombuses. Each child has a design printed on paper in front of them and a pile of pattern blocks. The designs depict common items—like a train and a bicycle—and are composed of shapes and colors matching the pattern blocks. The children place pattern blocks on the paper to fill in the design. Maritza hands a yellow hexagon to a child with glasses.

Child 1: What about a blue?

Maritza: A blue, those are called a rhombus.

On screen: Maritza reaches into the clear bin and pulls out a blue rhombus. She hands it to the child wearing glasses.

Maritza: See, can you look in here?

On screen: Maritza gestures to the clear bin with pattern blocks. In the next scene, a child with pigtails speaks to Maritza while holding up three fingers.

Child 2: I need three, tiny, orange square.

Maritza: You need three orange squares? Ask Joseph, can I have three orange squares?

On screen: The child standing to the left of Maritza asks for more squares.

Child 3: I need a lot of squares.

Maritza: I don’t know where all of our squares went.

Child 3: Can I use the rectangle shape?

Maritza: Well, can you fill it with a different shape?

Child 1: I find it.

On screen: The child wearing glasses reaches into the clear bin and pulls out a blue rhombus.

Maritza: You found one. Maybe, can you use a different shape?

Child 3: I could.

Maritza: See? Sometimes we can use other shapes to make the shape that we want. Like if I needed a square, I would use these two triangles and make a square.

On screen: Maritza picks up two triangles and holds them together so that they make a square for all the children at the table to see.

Child 4: I need a rhombus.

Maritza: Can you try to make some other shapes?

Text on screen: A special thanks to the children, families, and staff at the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools’ Lighthouse Development Center, without whose help these videos would not have been possible.

Logo: Count, play, explore – for early education.