Preschoolers’ Composing of Shapes When Storytelling

• In Event: Mathematics Tasks: Four Different Perspectives

Abstract

This study explores how integrating tangram building with storytelling enhances children's spatial reasoning and geometric skills. We investigated preschoolers’ compositions with tangrams during storytelling, combining guided and free play. Eighteen preschoolers (ages 3-5) created objects with tangrams to protect the pigs from the big bad wolf. Results showed preschoolers created objects like houses, boats, and monsters, using both standard and non-standard shape orientations. They demonstrated various levels of shape composition and disembedding abilities. The findings suggest that combining storytelling with guided and free play can support the development of spatial reasoning and geometric skills in young children.

Authors

• Yi Zhu, Purdue University

• Laura Bofferding, Purdue University

• Brenda Sarmiento-Quezada, Purdue University

• Dafne Zanelli, Purdue University