Which shapes are included?

Circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, rhombus, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, star and heart, depending on the activity.

What does sides and corners practice?

Children count the straight sides and the corners of each shape and write them in the boxes, which shows them that a shape is named by its sides, not its size.

How does colour by shape work?

A key at the top gives each of four shapes a colour. Children colour every shape on the page to match, which is a fun way to practise telling them apart.

Why is there a green dot on the traced shapes?

It shows where to start tracing, so children go round each shape in one smooth line.

Shape Worksheets: Trace, Name, Count Sides and Colour 2D Shapes

Shapes in many sizes and directions

Children often think a triangle has to point up. The shapes here are drawn in different sizes, and colour by shape scatters them so children name each one by its sides and corners.

Three activities

Tracing and naming suits preschool and Foundation. Sides and corners suits Year 1. Colour by shape works for any age as a quiet, satisfying activity.

In the Australian Curriculum

FoundationSorting, naming and making familiar shapes, and spotting them in objects around us (AC9MFSP01).
Year 1Making, comparing and classifying familiar shapes, and describing how they are alike and different (AC9M1SP01).

A shape hunt fits the Foundation description well, because it asks children to find shapes in the world around them and explain why: a window is a rectangle because it has four straight sides and four square corners.

In Year 1 the focus moves to comparing and classifying, which is where the sides and corners sheet helps. Ask children to sort the shapes into groups of their own and explain the rule they used.

Summarised in our own words from the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, Version 9.0 (ACARA).