Respond as if replying to her:

It is important for students to be able to recognize and identify shapes because they are all around us. I am even now typing this on a rectangular keyboard with square and rectangular keys. When first introducing the concept of identifying and naming shapes it can be helpful to start with 2-D shapes. One way to help students make connections would be to use an anchor chart with an illustration of the shape, its definition and fill it in with real life examples (Rycroft, 2017). Examples of circles might include items such a balls, wheels, or the sun. You can also reinforce understanding by using books that explore the topic, such as "Shapes, Shapes, Shapes" by Tanya Hoban or "Mouse Shapes" by Ellen Stoll Walsh.

Another way to strengthen students understanding of shapes is to provide opportunities for them to manipulate shapes to build new shapes. This can be accomplished with building blocks, tangrams, or even using popsicle sticks to build different shapes (Rycroft, 2017). Once student's have a basic understanding of two dimensional shapes, introducing the names of shapes in 3-D space is easier. A picture of a ball is a circle, but a solid ball is called a sphere (Ohio Department of Education, 2017, p. 11).

One great think about teaching shapes is that the environment provides endless opportunities for reinforcing and expanding students understanding of the concepts.