Mystery Shape Book & Sort | Geometry Shape Sort Game for 2nd Grade

Students draw from a "mystery bag" of shapes and write clues to describe the shape’s attributes, using sentence frames to support vocabulary. Then, students sort shapes using a visual sorting mat, justifying their reasoning through structured discussion.

Perfect for math centers, partner work, or formative assessment, this activity is aligned to 2.G.A.1 and builds shape vocabulary and categorization skills with fun and purpose!

What’s Included:
⭐Mystery Shape Book for student shape descriptions
⭐ Cut-out shapes or tangrams for a "Mystery Bag" activity
⭐ Shape Sort sorting mat with categories for classification
⭐Sample Lesson Plan so you can print and teach!
⭐ Sentence frames to support academic language

Standards Alignment / Objectives:
2.G.A.1 — Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces.

 ✅ Identify and describe two-dimensional shapes using academic language
 ✅ Sort and classify shapes based on multiple attributes
 ✅ Use reasoning to justify classification decisions
 ✅ Build math vocabulary through structured sentence frames

How to Use:

⭐Print the Mystery Shape Book
 
⭐Prepare a “Mystery Bag” with included shapes or tangrams.
 
⭐Students choose a shape and describe it using written clues—no shape shown!
 
⭐ Partner or class guesses the shape based on clues (optional variation: draw or paste it).
 
⭐Use the Shape Sort Mat to collaboratively categorize shapes, defending choices with the sentence frame: “I know it is a ___ because it has ___.”
 
Great for math centers, early finishers, or small group practice!