Meeting Solid Shapes: Cube, Sphere, Cone, Cylinder, and Rectangular Prism

Think about where you have seen this before. Cans, balls, boxes, and funnels are solid shapes doing everyday jobs in every house. This is worth learning because the real world is solid, so solid shapes are the ones you will handle.

Watch for it today, and when you spot it, tell someone what you noticed and how you knew. Ask yourself where else the same idea might be hiding, then go and look.

Here comes a new math idea. Solid shapes take up space and can be held. A cube has six square faces, like a die. A sphere is perfectly round, like a ball. A cone has a circle bottom and rises to a point.

A cylinder has two circle ends and a curved side, like a can. A rectangular prism is box shaped, like a cereal box. Find one of each in your home and hold it while you say its name.

Try holding each solid while you say its name. Feel the flat faces of a cube, the smooth curve of a sphere, the point of a cone. Shapes you have held are shapes you remember without effort. Try it once with someone beside you, then try it alone.