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.
- Plus Plan
Angles Maths Investigation – Design a Room
Turn your students into interior designers with this inquiry-based maths project based on drawing and measuring angles.
- Free Plan
Directions with Right Angle Turns Worksheet
Teach your students to give and follow directions using right angles with this 2-page maths worksheet for Year 3 students.
- Plus Plan
Colour by 2D Shape (Basic and Complex Shapes)
A detailed set of colour by shape activities.
- Plus Plan
Colour by 2D Shape (Basic Shapes)
A set of five colour by shape worksheets.
- Free Plan
2D Shapes and 3D Objects Vocabulary Poster
A poster that explains 2D and 3D shapes and lists associated vocabulary.
- Plus Plan
2D Shape Bingo
Engage your students while consolidate learning about 2D shapes, their names and properties with 2D Shape Bingo!
- Plus Plan
Parallel and Perpendicular Lines Activity — Escape Room
Engage your students with this parallel and perpendicular lines activity that encourages cooperation and problem solving to escape!
- Plus Plan
2D-3D Shape Posters
Use this set of 14 brightly coloured 2D and 3D shape posters to decorate your classroom and build academic vocabulary.
- Plus Plan
Missing Angles – Year 6 Maths Worksheet
Download this missing angles worksheet to get your students calculating missing angles on right and straight angles.
- Plus Plan
Angles Bingo
Generate excitement about angles in your classroom by playing this whole-class types of angles bingo game.
- Plus Plan
Identifying and Naming Angles – Cut-and-Paste Worksheet
Identify acute, right, obtuse, straight, reflex and revolution angles with this cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Classifying Angles Right Acute Obtuse Interactive Task Cards
Engage your students with our digital classifying angles right acute obtuse interactive task cards designed to provide varied practice with angle types.
- Plus Plan
Parallel and Perpendicular Lines Quiz
Administer this parallel and perpendicular lines quiz to assess your students’ ability to identify types of line pairs in a variety of settings.
- Plus Plan
2D Shapes Poster Set
Hang this 2D shapes poster set in your classroom to give students an easy reference for the attributes of two dimensional shapes.
- Plus Plan
Line of Symmetry 2D Shapes Interactive Activity
Engage your students in a variety of interactive activities all focused on the line of symmetry for 2D shapes.
- Plus Plan
Types of Angles Poster Pack
Remind your students about the most common types of angles with this set of six classroom posters.
- Plus Plan
2D Shape Poster Set
Use this set of 16 brightly coloured 2D shapes with your geometry lessons.
- Plus Plan
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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2D Shapes - Interactive PowerPoint Presentation
An interactive PowerPoint presentation that teaches the features of 2D shapes.
- Plus Plan
2D Shape Match
A fun match-up activity to consolidate your students’ knowledge of 2D shapes and their properties.
- Plus Plan
Supplementary Angles – Year 6 Maths Worksheet
Teach your students to identify and calculate supplementary angles with this one-page maths worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Complementary Angles – Year 6 Maths Worksheet
Teach your students to identify and calculate complementary angles with this one-page maths worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Let's Sort It! — 2D Shapes and 3D Objects Sorting Activity for Year 2
Play this sorting game when learning about the properties of 2D shapes and 3D objects.
- Plus Plan
Tessellation Poster
Making tessellating patterns is fun!
- Plus Plan
Fire Truck Shape Craft
Use a Fire Truck Shape Craft template to help your students identify 2D shapes during Fire Safety lessons.
- Plus Plan
Measuring and Classifying Angles Activity
Introduce this measuring and classifying angles matching activity to your students to give them engaging, hands-on practice with key geometry concepts.
- Plus Plan
Build a City Activity
Engage your learners with this cross-curricular build a city activity that invites them to create a digital city all their own.
- Plus Plan
Classifying Shapes Activity — Number Talk Cards
Spark discussion with this classifying shapes activity that will have students identifying the attributes of 2D shapes.
- Plus Plan
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!
- Plus Plan
Rotational Symmetry Interactive Activity
Use this engaging interactive resource to consolidate student understanding of rotational symmetry by answering a series of questions.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Identifying Lines of Symmetry Poster
Display this poster in your classroom as a reference tool for students to learn to identify lines of symmetry.
- 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