Composing and drawing three-dimensional shapes: A contribute for the characterization of the spatial reasoning of children aged five

Abstract

This article aims to characterize the spatial reasoning of children aged five through the analysis of their strategies when composing and drawing three-dimensional shapes. We begin by presenting curricular perspectives about the area of geometry in the kindergarten, focusing later conceptual aspects associated with the development of spatial reasoning, namely those involved in the composition of three-dimensional shapes. The study assumes a qualitative nature, within the modality of case study. The results of the study suggest the interaction between multiple processes that characterize spatial reasoning, verifying the occurrence of different strategies. The children, in the composition of the three-dimensional forms, used strategies involving intentionality and anticipation, corresponding to the shape composer level and substitution composer level. The analysis of the strategies used in the compositions’ drawings shows children’s ability to perceive spatial relationships by adopting a partial approach in which they regard the relative positions of the cubes as distinct parts of the tetracubes