Concept Attainment: Shapes

Subject Area: Mathematics Specific Content: Rectangles

Grade Level: Year 1 Time: 10 minutes

Instructional Objectives:

1) To introduce the concept of rectangle.

2) Learners list the first 5 pictorial representations of rectangle.

Procedures:

1) State the objectives of the lesson. “I’m thinking of the concept of rectangle. You

are to discover the concepts from the presented examples”.

2) The examples are presented in a two-column table. The first column is labeled

YES. It contains examples of the concept. The second column is labeled NO.

The examples in the NO list do not have the properties of the concept.

3) Teacher: Present only one line of the table at a time.

4) Direct learners to read the first two lines of the YES and NO table.

5) Instruct learners to formulate a hypothesis of the concept.

Say: “The example in the YES lists are a representation of the shape I am

thinking about. Do you see a property that tells what the shape in the YES list is?

What name would you classify this shape?”

6) Continue to exhaust the table. Add more if needed. When students get the

concept, direct them to add five additional YES examples to the table.

7) Ask learners how would they explain the arrival at the name and property in the

YES column?
YES NO
Steps of Concept Attainment:

1. Select and define a concept

2. Select the attributes

3. Develop positive and negative examples

4. Introduce the process to the students

5. Present the examples and list the attributes

6. Develop a concept definition

7. Give additional examples

8. Discuss the process with the class

9. Evaluate