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 Junior Infants and Senior Infants. Sides and corners suits 1st Class. Colour by shape works for any age as a quiet, satisfying activity.

Irish curriculum links

InfantsStage 1 Shape: children explore and recognise properties of 2-D and 3-D shapes, such as straight or curved sides and corners.
1st–2nd ClassStage 2: children examine, sort and model 2-D and 3-D shapes, and meet shape families that share properties.
TransformationNew in 2023, this strand unit starts in the infant classes with noticing that a shape can look different when it is moved or turned.

The continuum asks children to name common shapes in different orientations and sizes, which is why the shapes here are scattered rather than sitting on a base line. Turning the page itself round is a quick way to start that conversation.

These sheets cover flat shapes only. The Irish curriculum pairs 2-D and 3-D from the start, so keep a box of real cubes, cylinders and cones nearby and ask which faces match the shapes on the page.

Summarised in our own words from the Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023) and the NCCA Mathematics Toolkit.