Shape and Spatial Puzzles

Shape Hunt

Many young children will tell you a triangle has to sit flat with its point at the top. Shape Hunt gently argues otherwise: a skinny, tilted, upside-down triangle still has three sides and three corners, so it still counts.

Free sets by level, ages 4–6:

Shape Hunt, Level 1: two puzzles, each a shape in a box beside a scatter of outline shapes to search.Level 1: a page from the free set

Before starting

  • Know a triangle, a square, a rectangle and a circle
  • Count to 6
  • Color inside an outline

What you need

Crayons or colored pencils for coloring the shapes.

Free puzzles to print

Each set: a Learn sheet with a worked example, 10 puzzles from easiest to hardest, and the answers.

  • Level 1

    Ages 4–6 · Pre-K–K

    Shape Hunt, Level 1: two puzzles, each a shape in a box beside a scatter of outline shapes to search.

    The easiest puzzles: hunt triangles, squares, rectangles or circles, all upright and regular, among clearly different shapes; 3 or 4 to find among 8 to 10.

    The middle puzzles: some targets are tilted, skinny or upside down, with near misses (a curved side, a gap, rounded corners). Or pentagons and hexagons with a few crossing outlines.

    The hardest puzzles: pentagons or hexagons in a crowded scatter of 16 to 20 shapes. Lopsided or long ones still count; look-alikes have one corner fewer.

    On the sheet: “Color every shape like the one in the box.”

    Print Level 1 (Letter)Other paper size: A4

How it works

A box shows one shape, such as a triangle. Around it is a scatter of outline shapes. The child colors every shape of that kind and leaves the look-alikes alone. Later puzzles include tilted, skinny or upside-down shapes that still count, and pentagons and hexagons in a crowded scatter where some outlines cross.

How to play

  1. Look at the shape in the box. Count its sides and corners.
  2. Touch each shape on the page and count its corners too.
  3. Check the sides: all straight, and no gaps?
  4. Color every shape that matches. Leave the others.

When it gets hard

  • Skipping a triangle because it is upside down or very skinny.

    Hint: Count its sides and corners. Three straight sides and three corners make a triangle, any way up.

  • Coloring a shape with a curved side or a gap.

    Hint: The shape's sides must all be straight and all join up. Look for curves and gaps.

  • Miscounting the corners of a hexagon.

    Hint: Put a small dot on each corner as you count, then count the dots.

Tip for grown-ups: Point to a skinny or tilted one and ask: "Is this one a triangle too? How do you know?" The reason matters more than the coloring. Coloring each one as it is found keeps the count honest.

Frequently asked questions

Why does a tilted triangle count?
Many young children think a triangle must sit flat with its point at the top. A triangle is any closed shape with three straight sides, whatever its size or tilt. The middle and hardest puzzles include these on purpose.
What if my child colors a near miss?
Ask them to count its corners and look at its sides again. A curved side, a gap or one corner too few is the trick, and finding it is part of the puzzle.

Questions about printing, levels, answers or membership: see all questions.

Shape Hunt, Level 1 Learn sheet with a worked example

Worked example

From the Level 1 Learn sheet

  1. Look at the shape in the box.
  2. Find every shape like it. Count the corners.
  3. The first one is already colored. Color each of the others.

A question to ask: “How many corners does this one have?”

Free every Sunday A mixed bag of 20 new puzzles, all four levels. Get them by email

The thinking it works on

  • Knowing a shape beyond its usual picture

    Recognizes a shape when it is tilted, skinny or upside down.

    Aslan and Arnas (2007) found that preschoolers aged 3 to 6 often failed to recognize a familiar shape when it was tilted, stretched or skewed. They mostly relied on features that do not define the shape. Source

  • Counting sides and corners

    Counts corners to decide what a shape is.

    Clements and colleagues (1999) found that children aged 3 to 6 rarely used the number of sides or corners to decide what a shape was. Tilted or stretched triangles were often not called triangles. Source

  • Going by the rule, not the look

    Checks for straight sides and closed corners; ignores size.

    Tsamir, Tirosh and Levenson (2008) report that kindergarten children at once rejected non-triangles that look nothing like a triangle. Near misses that look much like one were more often taken for a triangle. Source

  • Searching the whole page

    Scans every part so no shape is missed.

    Enns and Cameron (1987) compared 4-year-olds, 7-year-olds and adults on a speeded task and found that searching for a target among other items got faster with age. Source

  • Sorting by a rule

    Decides yes or no for each shape by one rule.

    In the card sort used to study rule use (Zelazo, 2006), even 3-year-olds can sort every card by one rule, such as shape. Switching to a second rule is what most cannot do until about age 5. Source

Where is this thinking used?

  • Road signs: A stop sign or a yield sign is known by its shape from any angle.
  • Sorting at home: Buttons, blocks or cookie cutters can be sorted by shape.
  • Buildings and design: Triangles, rectangles and hexagons show up in roofs, windows and tiles.
  • Checking a page: Looking over a list or a form for every item of one kind.

For teachers

Curriculum areas
Common Core
Geometry: naming shapes whatever their size or which way they face (Kindergarten); telling defining features, such as three straight sides, from color or tilt (Grade 1)

Math practices: see the box below.

Math practices this puzzle uses

  • Not used: MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
  • Not used: MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively
  • Not used: MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
  • Not used: MP4 Model with mathematics
  • Not used: MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically
  • Uses: MP6 Attend to precision
  • Uses: MP7 Look for and make use of structure
  • Not used: MP8 Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

From the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice.

More Shape Hunt puzzles for members

Members get at least 5 more worksheets at each difficulty for every puzzle, 80 new puzzles every Sunday, and the whole archive. $39 a year or $25 for 6 months.

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Also known as: shape spotting, shape search, find the shapes.