Shapes chart
A shapes chart shows the basic shapes in outline with their names: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval, diamond and the polygons up to the octagon, plus the six solids. It is the wall reference for the shape names a child learns from preschool to 2nd grade.
Free printable PDF, preschool to 2nd grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
The table below is the sheet as it prints with these options: 2D shapes.
| Circle | Square | Rectangle | Triangle |
| Oval | Diamond | Pentagon | Hexagon |
| Octagon | Star | Heart | Trapezoid |
One page for every line and shape
Each kind of line and each shape also has its own preschool page, with where to start, which way to go and a sheet of just that one to trace.
What is on the chart
The 2D set is the twelve flat shapes named in early geometry: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval, diamond, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, star, heart and trapezoid. The 3D set is the six solids: cube, sphere, cylinder, cone, rectangular prism and pyramid. Every shape is drawn as a plain outline with no face or colour, so the name attaches to the shape and not to a picture.
Kindergarten names the first six and tells flat from solid. First grade adds the polygons by counting sides and corners, which is why the pentagon, hexagon and octagon are here. Second grade uses the same names for the attributes: the number of sides, equal sides, and the faces of a solid.
Using it
Point to a shape and ask for its name, then reverse it: say a name and have the child find it. Count the sides of each polygon with a finger. Send the child round the room to find one real thing for each shape on the chart. The blank shapes chart prints the outlines without names for the child to label, with this chart as the key.
Common questions
- Why is a diamond on the chart when it is a rhombus?
- Because "diamond" is the word children use and the word early geometry teaches; rhombus arrives in 3rd grade. The shape drawn is a rhombus standing on a corner.
- Are the 3D shapes to scale?
- They are drawn in the usual textbook view, with the hidden edges left out, so the name and the look match what a child sees in a classroom set.