Cylinders with Changing Dimensions in Diameter and Height

Matching and sorting are important early childhood skills. Matching is the identification of the same or similar objects according to their common properties. Sorting is the process of arranging objects with similar properties in a specific order or in groups. Matching and sorting are important activities which help children develop their brains, and also build the foundation for later math learning. Children should master the skills of matching and sorting by shapes, sizes, and/or colors.

This worksheet provides an exercise for hands-on matching and sorting skills. It is suitable for kids older than three years old. It consists of four groups of cylinders varying in height and diameter in different ways. The first group contains a row of cylinders decreasing in diameter, but having the same height. The second group contains cylinders decreasing in both diameter and height, and so are either larger or smaller, but always of the same shape. In the third group, the cylinders have the same diameter but vary in height; as the size decreases, the cylinder gradually becomes a disc in form. The last group of cylinders vary in all dimensions, decreasing in diameter but increasing in height, so that the cylinder changes from a disc to a stick in form.

Parents could cut out the cylinders in each group, mix them, and ask kids to fill the cylinders into their original positions. Or you may use the second page of the worksheet, which contains outlines of the cylinders, and ask kids to put the cylinders into the corresponding outlines. This exercise educates kids to distinguish differences in dimensions. Kids could train themselves to make comparisons between objects, form judgements and make decisions. This also is a good exercise for developing fine motor skills.