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Gather together a selection of different cuboids (or nearly cuboids!), for example bricks, blocks, dominoes, crates and small boxes.

It may be that the children have collected a small number of cuboids whilst involved in some other activity, for example through a story or role play.

 

This activity is applicable to indoor and outdoor environments through free-flow play.  

Activity

Encourage the children to build up towers using the materials.  

Questions to ask

See what you can make.

Tell me about this.

What will you choose next? Why?

Could you make it taller/as tall as/shorter/thinner/fatter?  Could you make it stretch further?   ...  

Have you given it a name? Do you want to call it something?

(On noticing that the child rejects one of the cuboids, perhaps it's appropriate to ask them 'tell me about this one'.)

Have you finished? How do you know?

Shall we look at what everyone has made?

Why has it fallen down?

 

After a little while you might want to add a simple rule, for example:

All blocks must touch the floor

None of the blocks must be on their own

Only one block can touch the floor

The tower must balance  

Possible observations

Use of geometric describing words and words of position e.g. flat, corner, next to, between, on top of, underneath, balance etc

Use of language of comparison e.g. bigger, taller, smaller, shorter, fatter, wider, lower, higher, same, different, like etc

Use of counting and number comparison

Overcoming difficulties when constructing

 

In addition to these mathematical observations you will have opportunities to observe other aspects of the EYFS Themes and Commitments (for example aspects of Creative Development, Knowledge and Understanding of the World etc). You may like to print off one of these sheets as an aide (1, 2, 3), on which you can note down what individual children say and do as they engage with the activity.