Types of quadrilaterals chart
A quadrilateral is any flat shape with four straight sides. This chart draws the six with names of their own, marks the equal sides and the right angles, and says under each one what makes it that shape.
Free printable PDF, 3rd grade to 5th grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
Parallelograms, two pairs of parallel sides
| ParallelogramOpposite sides equal | RectangleFour right angles | RhombusFour equal sides |
A rectangle and a rhombus at once
| SquareFour equal sides, four right angles |
Not parallelograms
| TrapezoidOne pair of parallel sides | KiteEqual sides meet in two pairs |
Reading the marks
Sides with the same number of tick marks are the same length, and the small square in a corner marks a right angle. The rhombus has one tick on every side because all four are equal. The rectangle has one tick on its long sides and two on its short ones, and a box in every corner.
One shape, more than one name
Read the chart from the top, like a family tree. The first three shapes are parallelograms, and some shapes fit more than one name. A square is a rectangle, because it has four right angles, and it is also a rhombus, because its four sides are equal. A rectangle is not always a square. That is the idea 3rd grade starts on (CCSS 3.G.A.1) and 5th grade sorts into a hierarchy (5.G.B.3 and 5.G.B.4).
Common questions
- Is a trapezoid a parallelogram?
- It depends on the definition your school uses. Many US books say a trapezoid has exactly one pair of parallel sides, so a parallelogram is not a trapezoid. Others say at least one pair, and then every parallelogram is also a trapezoid. Check which one your child's textbook uses.
- Is a rhombus the same as a diamond?
- In everyday speech, yes. In math the shape is called a rhombus: four equal sides, with the opposite sides parallel. A square standing on one corner is a rhombus too.