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 Grade R. Sides and corners suits Grade 1. Colour by shape works for any age as a quiet, satisfying activity.

CAPS links

Grade RRecognises and names 2-D shapes in the classroom and in pictures.
Grade 1Names circles, triangles and squares, and sorts shapes by size, colour, and straight or round sides.
Grades 2–3Adds rectangles, and recognises and draws lines of symmetry in shapes.
Grades 4–6Names polygons: pentagons and hexagons in Grade 4, heptagons in Grade 5, octagons in Grade 6.

CAPS describes Foundation Phase shapes by their sides: straight sides and round sides. Use those words when children count sides, and ask why a circle has no straight sides at all.

Pentagons, hexagons and octagons are Intermediate Phase shapes in CAPS, so treat them as an extra for Foundation Phase classes rather than something to test.

Summarised in our own words from the DBE’s CAPS for Mathematics, Foundation Phase and Intermediate Phase Grades 4–6 (2011).