Sorting 2-D and 3-D shapes
Compare and sort common 2-D and 3-D shapes and everyday objects by their properties
Lesson
Set out your lesson
Sort shapes with a rule that actually fits each member.
Before teaching
Ask the learner to explain one prerequisite idea before starting. If uncertain, revisit it; graph order is not learner readiness.
Check readiness rather than assuming source graph order establishes attainment.
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Teaching approaches
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1 approach
Sort shapes with a rule that actually fits each member.
Sort shapes with a rule that actually fits each member.
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Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Alike or Different Game
Before you open · source notes
Alike-or-different talk supports sorting 2-D and 3-D shapes. Not every coordinate plane.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk the learner to sort shapes by one attribute and name whether each is 2-D or 3-D.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “Alike or Different Game.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Sort a collection of 2-D shapes by number of sides
- Sort 3-D shapes by number of faces or whether faces are flat/curved
- Explain criteria used to sort a group of shapes
“Can your child sort a collection of shapes into groups — for example, separating all the shapes with curved sides from those with only straight sides?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Geometry
- Age range
- Ages 3–9
Standards