Why Teach Shapes and Colours Early? Key Benefits for Preschoolers
As the kids grow in our beautiful world, they see different shapes and colours. Our duty as parents and teachers is to make them identify those shapes and colours by their name. But having a hard time making your child and students learn the shapes and colours? Worry not, for you can resort to our help.
Here, we are presenting a comprehensive lesson plan on shapes and colours for preschool. This plan will be helpful for the kids as well as make the tedious task of making them learn for you easier.
Let us get started on how to teach our little monsters the shapes and colours of this wonderful world.
Concept Chart of the Plan
If the world is observed in a simple manner, we can see that the world is made up of different shapes and colours. So, pick any of the shapes or colours from the wide world, and let’s get started! Why the lesson plan?
The lesson plan is dedicated mainly-
For a Teacher to Plan Their Class - The activities can be carried out by engaging the students in colouring, or making different shapes with chart papers, hanging around the classroom and so on.
To Help The Children to Explore The World Around Them - We know the kids love to explore the world, they are always inquisitive about the shapes or colours, thus engaging them in these activities will satisfy their wandering minds.
Where to Start?
Shapes and Colours
As teachers or parents, we need to understand which pattern or colour attracts our child first. It might be simple structures like circles or even fascinating structures like the stars. They might be also curious about the colours in a rainbow, where you may explain to them the seven colours present in the rainbow.
Well, to Pin Down Your Kick-Start Plan, You Can Use The Format -
1. Firstly ask these questions to the kids -
Do you know what colours/shapes are?
Do you know which colour/shape is this? (pick up any object present nearby)
Don’t you think the colour/shape is brilliant?
Make them repeat the name of the colour/shape.
Now make them spell the colour name/shape name.
2. Practise the name of the colours and shapes regularly.
3. Hang the shapes in the classroom wall.
4. Make them colour in their colouring book with their colour pens.
5. Ask them to choose their favourite colour.
6. Play activities related to the colours and shapes - ask them to arrange the colours first then the shapes.
7. When they develop, ask them to draw the shapes and write their names.
8. After elementary teaching, ask them to pick up appropriate colours for each structure (like sun yellow, tree green).
These pointers are only tips and suggestions you can plan according to your preference.
Help at Home - Help for Parents
At home also you can engage your child with the colours and shapes. For some tips and suggestions, these pointers might be helpful -
Know your kid's favourite colour.
Make them meals of their favourite colours.
You can play with your child with shapes - like making castles with different structures or helping them to build blocks.
Involve in the fun activity with them like - painting or colouring their favourite drawing or colouring book.
Make colourful days - like making them wear a blue colour dress on Mondays, in green on Tuesdays, pink on Wednesdays, etc.
Whenever they question you about anything, answer them and ask them back questions on the same structure about its shape and colour. This will make them realise the different shapes and colours.
While taking a walk, ask them to objectify the structures with shapes and colours like 7 structures with red colour or 7 square-shaped structures.
Colour their bedroom wall with their favourite colours.
Hang shapes in their rooms.
This was a comprehensive plan on the lesson of shapes and colours which you can use as a teacher or parent. Make sure to revise the colours and shapes regularly and let them get inquisitive.
FAQs on Shapes and Colours Lesson Plan for Preschool: Interactive & Fun Ideas
1. What are the foundational shapes and colours to include in a preschool lesson plan as per the NCERT/CBSE curriculum?
For a preschool lesson plan, it's best to start with the basics to build a strong foundation. The typical shapes and colours recommended are:
- Basic Shapes: Circle, Square, Triangle, and Rectangle. These are easily identifiable in everyday objects.
- Primary & Secondary Colours: Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, and Black. Introducing these colours helps children categorize and describe the world around them.
2. How can you structure a simple lesson plan for teaching shapes and colours to preschoolers?
A successful lesson plan for preschoolers should be simple, engaging, and repetitive. A good structure includes:
- Introduction (5 mins): Start with a catchy song or a short story about shapes and colours to grab their attention.
- Core Activity (10-15 mins): Introduce one shape and one colour using flashcards or real objects. Follow up with a hands-on activity like sorting coloured blocks.
- Reinforcement (10 mins): Use a creative activity like drawing the shape of the day or a craft activity involving the colour of the day.
- Wrap-up (5 mins): Briefly recap by asking children to find the shape or colour in the classroom.
3. What are some examples of fun, interactive activities for teaching shapes?
To make learning about shapes fun and memorable, you can use a variety of interactive activities. Some effective examples include:
- Shape Hunt: Ask children to find objects around the room that match a specific shape (e.g., “Find something round like a circle”).
- Play-Doh Creations: Have children roll and mould play-doh into different basic shapes.
- Shape Sorting: Use cut-outs of different shapes and have children sort them into corresponding boxes or piles.
- Tracing and Drawing: Provide stencils or dotted outlines for children to trace, helping them develop motor skills while learning shapes.
4. Why is it beneficial to teach colours and shapes simultaneously to preschoolers?
Teaching shapes and colours together is highly effective because it helps children build stronger cognitive connections. When a child learns to identify a 'red circle' instead of just a 'circle' and 'red' separately, they are making more complex associations. This method reinforces both concepts at once, improves memory retention, and teaches children to observe and classify objects based on multiple attributes, which is a foundational skill for future learning in math and science.
5. How can I use everyday household items to create learning activities for shapes and colours?
You don't need expensive toys to teach these concepts; your home is full of learning tools. For example, you can use a round plate to teach 'circle', a square biscuit for 'square', and a rectangular book for 'rectangle'. For colours, you can sort laundry by colour, or identify the colours of fruits and vegetables during snack time (e.g., a 'yellow' banana, a 'red' apple). This makes learning practical and relevant to a child's daily life.
6. What is the importance of using a multi-sensory approach, like paints or play-doh, when teaching colours?
Using materials like non-toxic paint, play-doh, or coloured sand is crucial because it creates a multi-sensory learning experience. Preschoolers learn best by doing. When a child squishes blue play-doh or smears red paint, they are engaging their sense of touch along with sight. This tactile feedback helps solidify the abstract concept of colour in their brain, making it more concrete and memorable than simply looking at a flashcard.
7. How can a teacher or parent informally assess if a child has understood the concepts of shapes and colours?
Formal tests are not suitable for preschoolers. Instead, you can assess understanding through observation during play and simple, pressure-free questions. For example:
- Ask them to pass you an object of a specific shape or colour: “Can you hand me the blue block?”
- During storytime, point to an illustration and ask, “What shape is the wheel on this bus?”
- Give them a mix of coloured toys and ask them to put all the 'red' ones in a basket.
Their ability to correctly follow these instructions is a great indicator of their understanding.
