2-D shapes

Recognise and name common 2-D shapes (circles, triangles, rectangles including squares)

ages 4 to 68 practice questionsvideo included

What a learner can do afterwards

Name a triangle, circle, rectangle, and square when shown them
Identify a shape correctly regardless of its size or orientation
Pick out all the triangles from a mixed set of shapes

The lesson

Shapes are flat pictures we see all around us. Each shape has its own name. Today we will learn four shapes: circle, triangle, rectangle, and square.

A circle is round. It has no corners and no straight sides.

A triangle has three straight sides and three corners.

Try it together

A window can be a rectangle. A rectangle has four sides and four corners. Two sides are long and two sides are short. A square is a special rectangle. All four of its sides are the same length.

Good to know

A shape keeps its name in any size. It keeps its name at any angle too. A tiny triangle is still a triangle.

Circles are round, and squares, rectangles, and triangles have straight sides.

Watch it

Where it sits

Learn first

Nothing; this is a starting point.

This opens up

Angles in triangles (age 6+)Flat vs Solid Shapes Composing Shapes 2-D shapes (age 6+)2-D faces on 3-D shapes Combining Simple Shapes 3-D shapes (age 5+)

Where this leads

Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.

Artist Mechanical Engineer Bricklayer Builder Air Traffic Controller Cartographer

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.