Classifying Shapes Worksheet

Before a child can compare, build, or draw shapes, they have to be able to sort one from another by what it actually is, and that is what this Classifying Shapes Worksheet practices. A first grader who can say that a triangle has three straight sides and three corners, while a circle is round and has none, is using the defining attributes that geometry rests on. Color, size, and how a shape happens to be turned are not defining attributes, so the page deliberately shows the same shape large and small, dark and pale, upright and tilted. A shape stays itself no matter how it is drawn.

This first grade geometry worksheet puts nine numbered shapes on the page and a three-column chart underneath. Each column is headed with a shape name and the attributes that define it, so the chart doubles as a reference while the child works. Children look at each shape, count its sides and corners, and write that shape number on a line in the matching column. Because every card is the same size and the shapes are printed out of order, a child cannot sort by position or by copying a pattern. Use it as independent practice, as a partner sorting game, or as a quick check before moving on to composite shapes.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 9 numbered shapes and a three-column sorting chart

There are three reasons this classifying shapes worksheet helps children learn the skill. First, the attribute line under each column header gives the child a rule to test against instead of a picture to match, which is the difference between recognizing a shape and understanding it. Second, varying the size, the shade, and the rotation of every shape forces the child to ignore the features that do not define it. Third, writing a number rather than a word keeps the task on the geometry, so a child who is still building handwriting stamina is never slowed down by spelling.

Teachers and parents can keep the skill going away from the page. Go on a shape hunt around the room or the kitchen and name what you find. Make shapes with craft sticks and string, then count the sides and corners out loud. Cut shapes from paper, turn them upside down, and check that the name has not changed. Sort a handful of blocks into hoops on the floor. Ask a child to describe a shape without naming it while you try to guess which one they mean.

Related Resources

• Matching Shape Attributes Worksheet
• Drawing Shapes By Attributes Worksheet
• Find the Polygons Shapes Worksheet
• Shape Song by Have Fun Teaching