Story:Yesterday, almost everyone categorized the Geoblocks by shape. There are cubes, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms and pyramids. Within those shape categories, people had many different ways of grouping similar blocks. Today, use the key provided to find one of each type of block to make a set for yourself. Once you have one of each type, label each block with its name. After you have a labeled set, see what kinds of relationships between the Geoblocks you can find. Record your findings!

Suggested manipulatives: Classroom wooden block sets, pattern blocks, Geoblocks.

Prep time: 5 minutes to an hour. This is an exploration activity, yet depending on your students, the manipulative you choose and your goals, you may want to create labels for each block and/or reference sheets (as seen in the video).

Classroom time: Asking children to do their best work for each Math Vitamin assumes that some children will need a longer time than others. Ideally you want to offer a block of time for Math Vitamin projects and have another task available (writing, free exploration, etc.) for those students who finish work prior to their peers. For this project allow 40-60 minutes for students to work through all the steps.

How to individualize/stretch: Beginning to identify 3-D shapes can start with teachers of young children using correct vocabulary in block building areas (cylinder, rectangular prism, etc.). When you formally begin asking students to name 3-D shapes and discover relationships, begin with less complex block combinations. In the video you see a teacher guiding a beginning student in how to see a relationship and document their work. With this model in mind, the student can proceed to discover and document additional relationships and titles. As student skills increase, add more complex/multi-sided shapes to the task.