Free 2D Shapes Worksheets for Kindergarten – Count Sides and Corners

These free printable 2D shapes worksheets ask kindergarten children to count the sides and corners of forty flat shapes, four to a page. Each shape is printed with its name underneath and two small boxes: one for the number of sides, one for the number of corners.

The name is already on the page. This is not a naming exercise – the child does not have to know which one is the pentagon. It is a counting exercise, and that is a different and slightly later skill.

Six shapes appear across the pack: circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon and hexagon.

What Is in This Free 2D Shapes Worksheet Pack

• Ten printable worksheets with four shapes on each – forty shapes in all.
• Six different shapes: rectangle (9 times), circle (8), hexagon (7), square (6), triangle (6) and pentagon (4).
• Two boxes under every shape, for sides and for corners.
• The name of each shape is printed, so no reading of shapes is required.
• An eleventh page with the full answer key.
• A separate PDF for every page, free to download and print.

The 11 Sides and Corners Worksheets

Every answer in this pack is a pair of identical numbers. A triangle is 3 and 3, a square 4 and 4, a pentagon 5 and 5, a hexagon 6 and 6. The circle is 0 and 0.

That is not a coincidence or a simplification – it is true of every polygon there is. Each side ends at a corner and each corner joins two sides, so the two counts can never come apart. A child who works through forty shapes and notices it has found a small piece of real mathematics, and it is worth asking whether they have.

Worksheet 1 – Square, circle, rectangle, triangle

The four shapes are square, circle, rectangle, triangle, and the answers, in the same order, are 4/4, 0/0, 4/4, 3/3 (sides / corners).

The square and the rectangle are on the same page, and both answer 4 and 4. That is the pack’s first and best question: two shapes that look different and count the same.

Worksheet 2 – Triangle, circle, hexagon, rectangle

The four shapes are triangle, circle, hexagon, rectangle, and the answers, in the same order, are 3/3, 0/0, 6/6, 4/4 (sides / corners).

The hexagon arrives. Six sides is the largest count in the pack and the one children most often get wrong by one, because they lose their place going round.

Worksheet 3 – Triangle, pentagon, hexagon, circle

The four shapes are triangle, pentagon, hexagon, circle, and the answers, in the same order, are 3/3, 5/5, 6/6, 0/0 (sides / corners).

Pentagon and hexagon back to back, five sides then six. The only way to tell them apart by eye is to count, which is the point of putting them together.

Worksheet 4 – Pentagon, circle, square, rectangle

The four shapes are pentagon, circle, square, rectangle, and the answers, in the same order, are 5/5, 0/0, 4/4, 4/4 (sides / corners).

A pentagon, then a circle, then a square and a rectangle with the same answer as each other. Four shapes, three different answers.

Worksheet 5 – Pentagon, rectangle, square, circle

The four shapes are pentagon, rectangle, square, circle, and the answers, in the same order, are 5/5, 4/4, 4/4, 0/0 (sides / corners).

The same four shapes as page 4 in a different order. If a child remembered page 4 rather than counting it, this page will show it.

Worksheet 6 – Square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle

The four shapes are square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle, and the answers, in the same order, are 4/4, 3/3, 6/6, 4/4 (sides / corners).

Square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle – three different counts and one repeat.

Worksheet 7 – Square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle

The four shapes are square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle, and the answers, in the same order, are 4/4, 3/3, 6/6, 4/4 (sides / corners).

This page asks for the same four shapes as page 6, in the same order. Only the colors change. Use it as a second attempt a week later rather than doing the two back to back.

Worksheet 8 – Circle, pentagon, rectangle, hexagon

The four shapes are circle, pentagon, rectangle, hexagon, and the answers, in the same order, are 0/0, 5/5, 4/4, 6/6 (sides / corners).

Circle first, which is the answer most children write fastest, and then the pentagon, which is the slowest.

Worksheet 9 – Circle, triangle, rectangle, hexagon

The four shapes are circle, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, and the answers, in the same order, are 0/0, 3/3, 4/4, 6/6 (sides / corners).

Four shapes with four different answers: 0, 3, 4 and 6. The cleanest page in the pack for checking whether a child can count sides at all.

Worksheet 10 – Circle, square, rectangle, hexagon

The four shapes are circle, square, rectangle, hexagon, and the answers, in the same order, are 0/0, 4/4, 4/4, 6/6 (sides / corners).

The pack closes with a circle, a square, a rectangle and a hexagon – and again the square and the rectangle give the same pair of numbers.

Answer Key – All 40 Shapes

The eleventh sheet gives every shape with its two numbers written as sides slash corners, four to a page.

Read down it and the pattern is unmissable: 4/4, 0/0, 4/4, 3/3, and so on all the way down. The two numbers are the same in all forty boxes.

Fifteen of the Forty Answers Are the Same

Squares and rectangles both have four sides and four corners, and between them they account for fifteen of the forty shapes in this pack. Six squares, nine rectangles, and every one of them answers 4 and 4.

That repetition is the most useful thing in the pack. A child who has counted a square and then a rectangle and got the same answer twice will usually say something about it, and the something is worth following: if they have the same numbers, what makes them different shapes? The answer – that a square’s four sides are all the same length – is the beginning of classifying shapes rather than just naming them.

Pentagons are the rarest shape here, with four appearances. They are also the ones children miscount most, because five is the first number that is too many to see at a glance.

When Children Are Ready to Count Sides and Corners

• Age: about five to six – kindergarten, once the shapes themselves are familiar.
• Before starting: the child should be able to count to six reliably and write the numerals. Reading the shape names is not required if you read them aloud.
• K.G.B.4 – analyze and compare two-dimensional shapes, describing their similarities and differences and their parts, such as the number of sides and corners. That is this pack, word for word.
• 1.G.A.1 – distinguish between defining attributes and non-defining ones. The colors change and the counts do not, which is exactly that distinction.

How to Use These Worksheets

1. Put a pencil dot on each corner as it is counted. Corners are easier to keep track of than sides, and the dots stop the child going round twice.
2. Count the sides by running a finger along each one and stopping at every corner.
3. Ask about the circle before writing anything. Zero is a strange answer to write down, and it is worth a conversation about why a curve has no corners at all.
4. Do pages 6 and 7 a week apart. They ask for exactly the same four shapes in the same order, so back to back they teach nothing.
5. When a child has finished a page, ask whether the two numbers in each pair are ever different. Getting them to state the rule is worth more than getting the boxes filled.
6. Check against page 11 when the page is done.

Three Things to Watch For

1. Losing count going round. The hexagon is where this shows. Six sides is one more than a child can take in at a glance, so without a starting mark they count five or seven. A dot on the first corner solves it.

2. Counting the circle as one. A circle has one edge, and a child who writes 1 for sides is not being careless – they are answering a reasonable question. The convention is that curves are not sides and that a circle has none. Say it plainly rather than marking it wrong.

3. Filling in the second box without counting. Once a child has worked out that sides and corners always match, they will write the same number twice without looking. That is fine, and it is worth saying out loud that they have found the shortcut – but ask them to count one shape properly on each page anyway.

Printing Tips

• Print at 100 percent, actual size, on A4 or US Letter.
• Color printing is nice but carries no information: the same shape appears in different colors on different pages, and the answers never change.
• The answer boxes are small. A pencil works better than a thick crayon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age are these 2D shapes worksheets for?

About five to six years old. The child needs to count to six and write the numerals; the shape names are printed for them.

How many sides does a circle have?

None, and no corners either. The answer key gives 0 and 0. A circle has one curved edge, and by convention a curve is not counted as a side.

Why do sides and corners always match?

Because in any polygon each side ends at a corner and each corner joins two sides. The two counts are always the same number, and the pack demonstrates it forty times.

Which shapes are included?

Circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon and hexagon. Rectangles appear most often, pentagons least.

Are pages 6 and 7 the same?

They ask for the same four shapes in the same order, in different colors. Treat page 7 as a second attempt rather than a new page.

Is there an answer key?

Yes, page 11 gives the sides and corners for all forty shapes.

Do I need to sign up to download these?

No. Every PDF downloads immediately, with no account, no email address and no cost.

Can I use these in my classroom?

Yes, they are free to print for home and classroom use. Please do not sell them or re-host the files elsewhere.

More Free Shape Worksheets

• Free Shape Recognition Worksheets for Kindergarten – Circle the Shapes
• Free Sort Shapes by Sides Worksheets for Kindergarten – Count and Classify
• Free Count the Shapes Worksheets for Kindergarten
• Free Shape Words Worksheets for Kindergarten – Read and Write Shape Names
• Free 3D Shapes Worksheets for Kindergarten – Name the Solid Shapes
• Free Flat or Solid Shapes Worksheets for Kindergarten – 2D vs 3D Shapes