Stereognostic Sense

Geometric Solids
Materials A basket
An attractive cloth cover with a thick hem
10 geometric solids: sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, rectangular, square
prism, triangular prism, triangular pyramid, ellipsoid, ovoid, square
pyramid (tetrahedron)
7 white cards with geometric figures drawn in a thin blue line:
square, rectangle, equilateral triangle, acute isosceles triangle, circle,
oval and ellipse to match the base of cross-section of the cylinders.
A rug

Purposes  To refine the stereognostic sense

 To make the child aware of the solid shapes that surround him
 Indirect preparation for Geometry

Age 3.5 and up

Presentation I Introduction of Materials

1. Invite child and name activity.

2. Invite child to take cloth to a table of their choice.
3. Unfold cloth on table.
4. Choose 3 contrasting solids (for example, cube, sphere, and cone
or cylinder). “Today, we are only going to be using these three.”
Adult and child should carry them to table, one at a time, and
place them in a horizontal row in center of cloth.
5. Sit to right of child. Choose a solid, pick it up, and explore it by
moving your hands fully around it. Model this with your eyes
closed.
6. Place solid on cloth and gently explore how or if it moves (you
may want to begin with a curved figure for this – cube can be
flipped from one face to another but does not move as easily as
curved figures).
7. Offer solid to child, to explore with their stereognostic sense.
8. Repeat this process with other 2 solids you have brought.
9. Once you have explored all 3 solids stereognostically, adult
should introduce names of solids using a 3-period lesson.
10. At end of lesson, invite child to stay and to name solids for as
long as he would like.
11. Fade and observe.
12. Return when cycle of activity is complete or when interest
wanes.
 Stereognostic Sense
Geometric Solids

Presentation II Note: Once you introduce geometric solids, you have a commitment
to return to child and to continue giving 3-period lessons until child
knows names of all solids. When child can name all solids with a
reasonable level of success, you can introduce 2nd presentation.

Presentation of Stereognostic Exercise

13. Take child to shelf and let them know that this time, you will
need to take cloth and basket together. Child can carry basket
with folded cloth to table of their choice.
14. Remove cloth and place it to side of basket.
15. Adult and child can bring all solids, carrying them one at a time
and placing them into basket. Once placed, let child know that
you will be playing a game with solids.
16. Unfold cloth and place it over basket. Child now should not be
able to see any solids.
17. Let child know you will be reaching into basket to identify 1 of
solids. You will not do this visually- only by feeling.
18. Place both hands under cloth and feel around. Model your
thinking. “I feel a solid with curved edges… It is evenly smooth
all way around. It feels round like a ball. I think it’s a sphere.”
19. When you think you know which solid is in your hands, name it.
After it has been identified, take solid out from under cloth to
reveal it. Check to see if you named it correctly. Place solid back
into basket, under cloth.
20. Repeat this process 1-2 times.
21. Invite child to take a turn. Remind them of rule that you must
name what you think solid is before you remove it from basket to
check.
22. Stay for a while with child, then fade and observe.
23. When child has completed cycle of activity, guide him to return
solids to shelf one at a time, fold cloth, place cloth inside basket,
and return basket to shelf.

Control of Error Visual- the name of the solid does not match the solid chosen

Following 1. The child does the presentation independently.

Exercises 2. Similar to following exercise 1, but this time the adult asks the
child to find a particular solid.
3. Cards and Solids:
a.Bring the cards to the table and show them to the child.
b. Lay the cards on the table
c.Take one solid at a time and find the card on which it can be
 Stereognostic Sense
Geometric Solids

placed, remove it and continue to explore, matching each of the

solids to the cards.
4. How Many Solids Share the Same Card?
a.Take one card, such as the square.
b. Place it on all the possible solids, trying them one
after the other.
c.Group together the ones that share the same card.
d. If the child does not discover the relationship between
some plane figures and solids, show him.

Note: In doing this activity, place each of the solids on the card, it
will be found that the solids with curved surfaces (cylinder, cone,
sphere, etc) need to be looked at from above in order to see the
relationship with the plane figure.

Language Names of the shapes: sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, rectangular

prism, triangular prism, square pyramid, ellipsoid, ovoid, triangular
pyramid (tetrahedron)

Sensorial Games None

Pedagogical Notes  The stereognostic sense combines all aspects of the tactile sense
and includes movement around the object
 This work is best done on a table, not a rug

tetrahedron
with base
 Stereognostic Sense
Geometric Solids

cone cube cylinder

ellipsoid ovoid sphere

rectangular square-base triangular-

prism pyramid base prism