2D Shapes Teaching Resources
Bring dimension to 2D shapes for primary students with printable worksheets, digital activities, maths games and more — created by teachers for teachers!
This comprehensive collection of teaching resources includes editable lessons on two-dimensional shapes, aligned to the Australian curriculum and ready to be printed and used in the classroom. Explore the entire collection to find educational games, geometric activities, posters and vocabulary word wall cards to assist your students when they are learning to identify 2D figures by their names and their attributes.
Teaching this part of the maths curriculum for the first time in a while? Read on for a primer from the teachers on the Teach Starter team.
What Are 2D Shapes?
Two-dimensional shapes, or 2D shapes, are shapes that have only length and width, but no depth. Each of these geometric shapes has its own unique characteristics and properties, such as the number of sides, the types of angles and the relationship between the sides and angles.
For example, a square has four equal sides and four right angles, while a circle has no sides and no angles.
Teaching about 2D geometric shapes is crucial in those early years classrooms as these are the building blocks of more complex geometric concepts. Understanding them is an important foundation for developing spatial reasoning skills. It will also lay the groundwork for learning about symmetry, angles and perimeter and area, among other geometry and measurement concepts.
2D Shapes — A Kid-Friendly Definition
Looking to provide a simple definition for your primary students? Here's a kid-friendly definition you can use:
A 2D shape is a flat shape that has only two dimensions — length and width. When something is two-dimensional, it's flat like a drawing or a picture on a piece of paper.
Understanding 2D shapes is important because it helps us recognise and describe the shapes we see around us, and it can also help us with math and other subjects.
2D Shape Examples
A definition is a good start, but providing concrete examples will help students begin to wrap their heads around these two dimensional-objects!
Let's look at some of the common examples of 2D shapes that we teach in the early years:
Square
A square is a 2D shape with four straight sides that are all equal in length and four right angles. It is a type of rectangle and a type of parallelogram.
Rectangle
A rectangle is a 2-dimensional shape that has four straight sides. Unlike a square, a rectangle has two sides that are longer than the other two. It has four right angles and opposite sides that are parallel and equal in length.
Parallelogram
Like a rectangle and square, the parallelogram has four sides and is considered a 2D shape. The four straight sides of a parallelogram are parallel to each other. Opposite sides of a parallelogram are equal in length, and opposite angles are equal in measure. Squares, rectangles and rhombuses are all examples of parallelograms.
Trapezium
A trapezium (or trapezoid) is a quadrilateral shape with two parallel sides and two non-parallel sides. The parallel sides are called the bases of the trapezium, and the non-parallel sides are called the legs. Even though a trapezium has four sides, it is not a parallelogram!
Triangle
A triangle is a two-dimensional shape that has three straight sides and three angles. The angles of a triangle always add up to 180 degrees.
Circle
A circle is a 2D geometric shape that is round and has no straight sides. It is defined as the set of all points in a plane that are at a fixed distance (called the radius) from a single point (called the center).
Ellipse
An ellipse is a 2D shape that is similar to a circle, but its shape is stretched out or elongated. It is defined as the set of all points in a plane whose distances from two fixed points (called the foci) add up to a constant value.
Pentagon
A pentagon is a 2D shape that has five straight sides and five angles. The word 'pentagon' comes from the Greek words 'penta' (meaning 'five') and 'gonia' (meaning 'angle'). Each angle of a regular pentagon measures 108 degrees, and the sum of the angles in a pentagon is 540 degrees.
Hexagon
A hexagon is a 2D shape that has six straight sides and six angles. Each angle of a hexagon measures 120 degrees, and the sum of the angles in a hexagon is 720 degrees. Snowflakes are a common example of hexagons found in nature, and so is the honeycomb!
Rhombus
A rhombus is a 2D shape with four straight sides that are all equal in length. It is a type of parallelogram, and it has opposite angles that are equal in measure.
Octagon
An octagon is an eight-sided 2D shape. A stop sign is an octagon that students might recognise from seeing it along the road on the way to school.
Quadrilateral
A quadrilateral is a 2D shape with four sides and four angles. The sum of the interior angles of a quadrilateral is always 360 degrees. The following are all examples of quadrilaterals:
- Square
- Rectangle
- Parallelogram
- Trapezium
- Rhombus
What Are Polygons?
Many of the 2D shapes that students learn about are polygons.
A polygon is a 2D shape that has three or more straight sides and angles. Polygons can have any number of sides, but they must be straight, and they must not cross each other.
The word 'polygon' comes from the Greek words 'poly' (which means 'many') and 'gonia' (which means 'angle').
Here are some common examples of polygons:
- Triangles
- Squares
- Rectangles
- Pentagons
- Hexagons
- Octagons
A circle and an ellipse are both 2D shapes, but they are not polygons. They have a curved shape, while polygons consist of a closed structure with sides.
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Parallel and Perpendicular Lines PPT — Teaching Slides
Download this parallel and perpendicular lines PPT to engage your students as you teach them about different line types!
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Interactive Maths Review – Activities for Years 5, 6 and 7
Review important maths concepts covered in years 5, 6 and 7 with a student-led interactive activity.
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2D Shape Activity Sheets
A set of nine worksheets where students demonstrate their understanding of various 2D shapes.
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2D Shape Bingo
Engage your students while consolidate learning about 2D shapes, their names and properties with 2D Shape Bingo!
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Drawing 2D Shapes Worksheet
A worksheet with questions regarding 2D shapes.
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Individual 2D Shapes Posters - BW
2D Shapes and their names, diagrams and properties on individual posters.
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Tessellating Shapes Worksheet Set
Download this tessellating shapes worksheet set to introduce your students to the beauty of tesselations.
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Line and Rotational Symmetry Sorting Activity
Have your students determine whether each object has line symmetry, rotational symmetry, or no symmetry, with this fun cut and paste worksheet.
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Lines of Symmetry Teaching Slides
Introduce your students to the concept of lines of symmetry using this comprehensive and easy-to-understand 12-slide teaching presentation!
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Right Angle Turns: Spin and Win! – Interactive Game
Get your Year 3 students spinning to win with this engaging digital maths game about right angles as measures of a turn.
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Measuring and Drawing Angles – Task Cards
Improve student understanding of angle measurement with this set of 24 task cards.
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Angles in Our Environment Interactive Game
Bring an extra dimension of fun into your Year 3 maths classroom with an interactive game exploring angles in the environment.
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Regular and Irregular Polygons
A poster chart showing regular and irregular polygons.
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Types of Triangles Poster
A poster depicting and explaining the four types of triangles.
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Rotational Symmetry Teaching Presentation
Share this 12-slide rotational symmetry teaching presentation with your Grade 4s to expose them to the concept of rotational symmetry.
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We're Going On a Shape Hunt! Graphing Game
Consolidate students' knowledge of 2D shapes while teaching about data collection, recording and graphing!
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Printable Protractor Templates
Teach your students how to measure angles using a protractor with these 180° and 360° printable protractor templates.
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2D Symmetry Poster - Reflection and Rotational
This 2D symmetry poster explores both reflection and rotational symmetry.
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Tessellation Poster
Making tessellating patterns is fun!
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Flip, Slide and Turn Poster Set
Examine the difference between flipping, sliding and turning a shape.
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Mini-Mystery – Which Key Opens the Door?
Use knowledge of 2-D shapes and right angles to solve the mystery in this fun, logic-based activity.
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Identify and Colour 2D Shapes Worksheet
Use this 2D shapes worksheet to help your students identify 8 of the most common two-dimensional shapes.
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Rotational Symmetry Interactive Activity
Use this engaging interactive resource to consolidate student understanding of rotational symmetry by answering a series of questions.
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Line and Rotational Symmetry Teaching Slides
Use this comprehensive deck of 20 teaching slides to introduce your Grade 4 students to line symmetry and rotational symmetry.
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Line and Rotational Symmetry Quilt Activity
Have your students apply their knowledge of line and rotational symmetrical designs and collaborate with their peers using this fun quilt design activity!
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Drawing Angles Poster
Remind your students how to draw angles using a protractor with this classroom anchor chart.
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Advanced Angles Poster Pack
Teach your students about alternate, co-interior, corresponding and vertically opposite angles with this set of classroom posters.
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2D Shapes Similarities and Differences Presentation
Support teacher instruction to help enable students to identify similarities and differences between 2-D shapes with this 18-slide deck.
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2D-3D Shape Posters
Use this set of 14 brightly coloured 2D and 3D shape posters to decorate your classroom and build academic vocabulary.
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Science Experiment - Angles of Reflection
A science experiment that explores reflected light.
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Pattern Block Design Cards
Build shape recognition and have fun building composite figures with Pattern Block Design Cards.
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Intersecting, Parallel and Perpendicular Lines PowerPoint Interactive Activity
Introduce this intersecting, parallel and perpendicular lines PowerPoint interactive activity in your classroom to spice-up your geometry lesson!
- 2D Shapes Worksheets
- 2D Shapes Games
- 2D Shapes Posters
- 2D Shapes Teaching Presentations
- 2D Shapes Templates
- 2D Shapes for Preschool/Kindergarten
- 2D Shapes for Foundation Year
- 2D Shapes for Year 1
- 2D Shapes for Year 2
- 2D Shapes for Year 3
- 2D Shapes for Year 4
- 2D Shapes for Year 5
- 2D Shapes for Year 6
- 2D Shapes for Year 7