2D Shapes Worksheets

2D shapes are flat shapes that have length and width but no thickness, such as a circle, a triangle or a rectangle. The five PDFs on this page ask children to name shapes from a word bank and to count the sides and vertices of each one, and every sheet has an answer key. They follow standards K.G.A.2, 1.G.A.1 and 2.G.A.1, which the Common Core standards for kindergarten geometry describe, and the notes below explain what to teach at each step.

Quick answer: 2D shapes are flat shapes, such as the circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon and octagon, that you can name by counting their sides and corners. This page has 5 free printable 2D shapes worksheets with answer keys for kindergarten to grade 2. Updated October 2026.

Naming shapes by their sides

Most shape names count sides: a pentagon has 5, a hexagon 6 and an octagon 8 (like an octopus has 8 legs). Four-sided shapes have special names depending on their sides and angles: square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid and parallelogram.

2D shapes chart

A polygon is any closed flat shape with straight sides, so a circle is not a polygon. In a regular polygon all the sides and angles are equal; a stop sign is a regular octagon.

Shape activities for kindergarten and grade 1

• Shape hunt: look for clocks (circles), windows (rectangles) and roof tops (triangles).
• Sort shapes by the number of sides, then by color or size: the name depends only on the sides.
• Draw shapes on a partner’s back and let them guess.
• Build pictures (a house, a rocket) from paper shapes and count how many of each you used.

Common mistakes

• Thinking only “upright” triangles are triangles. Any closed shape with 3 straight sides is a triangle.
• Mixing up 2D and 3D names: a ball is a sphere, not a circle.

2d shapes worksheets: what is in the set

There are 5 2d shapes worksheets on this page, and every one has an answer key except for any cut-out games. Three sets ask children to name the shape, and two sets ask them to count the sides and the vertices.

2D shapes: names, sides and vertices of the polygons

The names of the 2D shapes with straight sides come from Greek number words: a triangle has 3 angles, a pentagon has 5 sides, and a hexagon has 6. Children who know the prefixes can name any polygon they meet. The number of vertices is always the same as the number of sides, because every side ends at a vertex. This table lists the polygons from 3 to 12 sides, with the angle sum and the angle of each corner if all the sides and angles are equal. Wikipedia’s article on polygons has the full list of names:

The angle sum goes up by 180° each time a side is added, since every extra side adds one more triangle inside the shape. This is an idea for older children, but the table shows that the shapes are connected: a hexagon is 4 triangles, and a square is 2.

Sides and vertices worksheets: how many diagonals?

The sides and vertices worksheets ask children to count the sides and the vertices of a shape, and an interesting fact is how many other lines can be drawn between the vertices. A line joining two vertices that are not neighbors is a diagonal. A polygon with n sides has n × (n − 3) ÷ 2 diagonals. This table shows how it grows:

A triangle has no diagonals, because every vertex is joined to the other two by a side. A hexagon has 9, and a decagon has 35. Children can check these by drawing the shapes and counting, which is a good way to practice counting carefully.

Naming shapes worksheets: size and position do not matter

The naming shapes worksheets show shapes in different sizes and positions, because the standard K.G.A.2 says to name shapes “regardless of their orientations or overall size”. A triangle can be tall, wide, upside down or tilted, and it is still a triangle. A good question to ask is “what makes this a triangle?” and the answer should be the number of sides: three straight sides that make a closed shape. The three naming sets on this page use a word bank, and the shapes in every set are shown in different sizes and positions.

Shapes worksheets for kindergarten: what children learn at each grade

Shapes worksheets for kindergarten start with a few shapes and grow in difficulty over the next few years. This table shows the order that the Common Core standards use, with the standard that goes with each step:

The sheets on this page cover kindergarten to grade 2. The word bank on the naming sets shortens the task for the youngest children, and the sides and vertices sets are best for grade 1 and 2. The 3D shapes page is the next step, with solid shapes.

Polygon worksheets: regular polygons and their angles

A polygon is a closed flat shape made of straight sides. A regular polygon has all its sides and angles equal, such as a stop sign. Polygon worksheets for older children use the idea that the angles of a regular polygon can be calculated. Each interior angle is (n − 2) × 180° ÷ n, and each exterior angle is 360° ÷ n. This table gives six regular polygons that children know:

The angle of a square is 90°, and for a hexagon it is 120°. Three hexagons fit together around a point, since 3 × 120° = 360°, which is the reason why a honeycomb has no gaps. Squares and equilateral triangles also fit together with no gaps, and so can no other regular polygons on their own. The fractions worksheets use the same shapes when they cut a shape into equal parts.

Four-sided shapes: the quadrilateral family

The quadrilaterals are a good example of how shapes belong to groups. All of them have 4 sides, but they have different properties. This table shows six of them, and the last column counts the lines of symmetry:

The shapes are also nested. A square is a special rectangle, and a rectangle is a special parallelogram. In US schools a trapezoid has at least one pair of parallel sides, so a parallelogram is also a trapezoid, though some books use a stricter definition. This table shows which shapes are also other shapes:

Common mistakes with 2D shapes

Most mistakes come from a picture in the child’s mind that is too narrow, such as a triangle that always points up. This table shows six mistakes, what went wrong and the fix:

2d shapes word problems

Story problems use the shapes of everyday objects. Ask children to draw the shape, to label the sides and vertices, and to say the answer in a sentence:

Games and activities for 2d shapes

Children learn 2d shapes best when they play with it. These games use things that are found at home or in a classroom:

• Shape hunt: look for clocks (circles), windows (rectangles) and road signs (triangles and octagons)
• Mystery shape: one child feels a cardboard shape in a bag, and says how many sides it has
• Shape pictures: build a house or a rocket from paper shapes, and count how many of each shape you used
• Geoboard shapes: make a triangle, a square and a hexagon with rubber bands on a geoboard
• Straw shapes: use straws and clay to make shapes, and count the vertices
• Shape bingo: a bingo card with shape names and calling cards with shape pictures

Extra support and extra challenge with 2d shapes

For children who need more support: start with the circle, the square, the triangle and the rectangle, with real objects in the hand. Trace around each shape, count the sides with a finger and mark each vertex with a dot. Practice only the first set of naming until the names are secure, and keep the word bank in sight.

For children who need more challenge: ask for the shape that has 5 sides and 5 vertices, to draw a shape with 6 sides that is not regular, and to find a shape that fits in a hexagon in different ways. The “Sides and Vertices (Set B)” worksheet and the diagonal table are good challenges.

How to tell that a child is ready to move on from 2d shapes

1. The child names the common 2D shapes in any size or position.
2. The child counts the sides and the vertices of a shape.
3. The child says why a shape is a triangle or a rectangle, using the sides.
4. The child knows that a circle has no sides and no vertices.

When all four are true, move on to the 3D shapes page, or to the symmetry page.

A 20-minute lesson on 2d shapes

A short lesson is the best way to introduce 2d shapes. This 20-minute plan can be used in a classroom, at a tutoring session or at home, and it uses the worksheets at the end:

Where 2d shapes fits across the grades

No skill stands alone. This table shows what children learn before and after 2d shapes, with the standard that goes with each step:

This page is the start of the geometry sequence. The whole sequence is on the geometry worksheets page.

Helping at home with 2d shapes

Parents do not need to be experts to help with 2d shapes. These suggestions work well, and each takes only a few minutes:

• Go on a shape walk and name the shapes of signs, doors and windows.
• Draw a shape in the air and ask the child to guess it.
• Cut a sandwich into a triangle and a square, and count the sides.
• Ask “how many corners?” and then call them vertices.
• Praise “because it has three straight sides” as an answer.

How to check progress in 2d shapes

A teacher or parent can check progress with the answer key and a few questions. This table shows three common situations, what they mean and what to do next:

A five-day plan for 2d shapes

Most children need about a week of short sessions for 2d shapes. This plan follows the order of the worksheets on this page:

When the plan is complete, move on to the 3D shapes page. The whole sequence is on the geometry worksheets page.

Shapes worksheets for kindergarten: free PDFs

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