Grade by Grade
Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics · Patterns, Shapes, Measuring and Sorting

Shapes and 3D Figures

A9.1 A9.2About 25 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can name circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons, rhombuses and trapezoids.
  • I can count the sides and corners of a shape.
  • I can name cubes, spheres, cylinders, cones, prisms and pyramids.
  • I can tell which solid figures roll, stack or slide.

Words to know

shape (2D)
A flat shape, like a circle or a triangle drawn on paper.
figure (3D)
A solid thing you can hold, like a ball or a box.
side
A straight edge of a flat shape.
corner
Where two sides meet. Grown-ups also call it a vertex.
face
A flat part of a solid figure. A cube has 6 square faces.
roll, stack, slide
Ways things move. Round things roll. Flat things can stack and slide.

Shape detectives!

Grown-up, read this out loud.

Look around the room. Can you see something round? Something with corners? Something flat? Shapes are everywhere. Let's learn their names!

A round white plate, a square wooden coaster, a slice of watermelon shaped like a triangle, and a rectangular cutting board on a table.
Shape detectives, look! Find the circle (the plate), the square (the coaster), the triangle (the watermelon slice) and the rectangle (the cutting board). AI-generated image
circletrianglesquarerectanglehexagon
Flat (2D) shapes: a circle, a triangle, a square, a rectangle and a hexagon.
rhombustrapezoid
Two more flat shapes: a rhombus (it looks like a diamond, or a square that is leaning over) and a trapezoid (it looks like a slice of a hexagon).
ShapeSidesCornersLook for
circle00One round curved line
triangle333 straight sides
square444 sides all the same length
rectangle44Often 2 long sides and 2 short sides
hexagon66Like a honeycomb cell
rhombus444 sides all the same length, leaning over like a diamond
trapezoid44A long side on the bottom and a shorter side on top that go the same way
Count the sides with your finger. Count the corners too!
Worked example

Let's count the sides of a triangle

How many sides and corners does a triangle have?

  1. Put your finger on one corner of the triangle in the picture.
  2. Slide your finger along one side to the next corner. Say "1".
  3. Keep going: "2", "3". Now you are back where you started.
  4. Count the pointy corners too: 1, 2, 3.

A triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners.

A triangle can look different

A triangle can be tall and skinny, wide and flat, or upside down. It is still a triangle if it has 3 straight sides and 3 corners.

Every one has 3 straight sides and 3 corners.
These are all triangles!

Solid (3D) figures

Some things are not flat. You can hold them in your hands. They are 3D figures.

cubecylinderconesphere
A cube (like a dice 🎲), a cylinder (like a soup can 🥫), a cone (like an ice cream cone 🍦) and a sphere (like a ball ⚽).
rectangular prismpyramidtriangular prism
A rectangular prism (like a cereal box 📦), a pyramid (it comes to a point at the top) and a triangular prism (like a tent shape, with a triangle at each end). Rectangular prisms and triangular prisms are both prisms.
Worked example

Let's test: roll, stack or slide?

Which figures can roll? Which can stack?

  1. Try a ball (sphere). Push it. It rolls everywhere! But it is hard to stack, because it has no flat part.
  2. Try a box or block (cube or rectangular prism). It has flat faces. It stacks and slides, but it does not roll.
  3. Try a can (cylinder). On its side, it rolls. Standing up, it stacks on its flat circle face.
  4. Try a cone. It rolls around in a circle on its side. It can stand on its flat circle face.

Round, curved parts help things roll. Flat faces help things stack and slide. A cylinder can do both!

Hands-on activity

Shape hunt

Walk around your home with your child. Find:

  • a circle (a clock, a plate, the top of a jar)
  • a rectangle (a door, a book, a window)
  • a square (a cracker, a sticky note, a tile)
  • a sphere (a ball, an orange)
  • a cylinder (a soup can, a paper towel roll)
  • a rectangular prism (a cereal box, a tissue box)
  • a cube (a dice, some blocks)

Then test them: Which ones roll? Which ones stack?

A funny true fact

Bees are shape builders! They make the little rooms in their honeycomb in the shape of a hexagon, with 6 sides. Buzz-tastic! 🐝

Your turn

1

🔴

What shape is this?

2

How many sides does a triangle have?

3

🎲

What 3D figure is a dice?

4

⚽

What 3D figure is a ball?

5

🥫

What 3D figure is a soup can?

6

Which one can roll: a dice 🎲 or a ball ⚽?

7

Find something shaped like a rectangle in your home.

8

A long, skinny shape has 3 straight sides and 3 corners. Is it a triangle?

More practice: warm-up

1

🟦

What shape is this?

2

🔺

What shape is this?

3

Does a circle have corners?

4

📦

What 3D figure is a box like this?

5

🍦

What shape is the ice cream cone part?

More practice: on your own

1

I have 3 sides and 3 corners. What am I?

2

I have 4 sides that are all the same length and 4 square corners, like a cracker. What am I?

3

I am round all over. I roll everywhere. I have no flat faces. What am I?

4

I can roll on my side and I can stack on my flat circle faces. What am I?

5

Look at the rhombus and the trapezoid. How many sides does each one have?

Challenge

1

A hexagon is the shape of a honeycomb cell. How many sides does it have?

2

🎲📦⚽

Which one is different? Why?

3

Look at the pyramid picture. What shape are the slanted faces that go up to the point?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which shape has 3 sides?

2.

Which one is a sphere?

3.

Which one can roll and stack?

4.

Which shape has no corners?

5.

Which shape has 4 sides all the same length and leans over like a diamond?

For parents and teachers

What this is about: Children explore, sort and compare flat (2D) shapes and solid (3D) figures. They learn names, count sides and corners, and test how figures move (roll, stack, slide). They also see that shapes can look different (big, small, turned, skinny) and keep their name.

How to help at home:

  • Use real objects: cans, boxes, balls, blocks. Let your child hold and test them.
  • The new names in Kindergarten include hexagon, rhombus and trapezoid (the shapes in a pattern-block set) and prisms and pyramids.
  • Show triangles in many positions, not only "point up".
  • Use the real names (cylinder, sphere) along with everyday words (can, ball). Children enjoy big words!

Common difficulties:

  • Calling a sphere a "circle" or a cube a "square". Explain: a circle is flat on paper; a sphere is a solid ball you can hold.
  • Thinking a turned square is a different shape ("a diamond"). It is still a square when its 4 sides are the same length and its corners are square corners.
  • A square is a special kind of rectangle. You do not need to teach this now, but do not tell your child that a square is "not a rectangle".