Name Shapes — CCSS.K.G.2: Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size.

People have been looking at shapes for a very, very long time! Long ago, people saw shapes in nature. They saw circles in the sun and the moon. They saw triangles on the tops of mountains. They wanted to give these shapes names so they could talk about them.

Here is the big question: Can you still name a shape if it is turned sideways? What if it is really tiny or really huge? Yes, you can! A shape keeps its name no matter what. Let's find out how.

Every shape has special parts that tell us its name. We look at how many sides it has and how many corners it has. A side is a straight line. A corner is where two sides meet. A circle is special because it has no sides and no corners at all!

Look at the picture below. It shows five shapes you need to know. Each shape is drawn in a different color so you can tell them apart. Notice that each shape is shown in different sizes. A tiny circle and a big circle are both still circles!

Did you notice that the big shapes and the small shapes all look the same—just different sizes? That is because a shape's name comes from how many sides and corners it has. Size does not change the name.

Here is a simple trick to name any shape. Just follow two steps! First, count the sides. Second, count the corners. Then use this guide to find the name.

Notice that a square and a rectangle both have 4 sides and 4 corners. How do you tell them apart? A square has all sides the same length. A rectangle can have sides that are different lengths. Fun fact: every square is also a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square!

Sometimes shapes are turned sideways, upside down, or tilted. This is called a different orientation (say: or-ee-en-TAY-shun). That just means the shape is facing a different way. But guess what? Turning a shape does not change its name! Look at the picture below to see how shapes keep their names even when turned.

Look at the square that is balanced on one corner. Some people call this a "diamond." But it is still a square! It has 4 equal sides and 4 corners. Turning it does not change what it is.

Let's practice naming shapes step by step. Imagine you see a shape on a worksheet. It has straight sides, and it is turned so that one corner points to the top. Let's figure out its name!

Some shapes look a lot alike! It can be tricky to tell them apart. The table below will help you see what makes each shape different from the others.

You are doing a great job learning flat shapes! These flat shapes are called two-dimensional shapes (or 2D shapes) because they are flat like a drawing on paper. Soon you will learn about three-dimensional shapes (or 3D shapes) that you can hold in your hands!

Knowing how to name flat shapes is the first step. Once you can name circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles, you will be ready to learn about the shapes that make up the world all around you!

Now it is your turn! Try to answer these questions. Think about what you learned: count the sides, count the corners, and remember that size and turning do not change a shape's name.