Look around you. Things come in many shapes! Some shapes are solid – you can hold them. Some are flat – like a drawing on paper.
Solid shapes
| Solid | Looks like | Rolls? | Stacks? |
|---|---|---|---|
| cube | a dice, a block | no | yes |
| cuboid | a juice box, a shoe box, a brick | no | yes |
| cylinder | a tin of food, a drum | yes, on its side | yes, standing up |
| cone | an ice cream cone, a party hat | yes, round and round | no, not on its point |
| sphere | a ball, an orange, a marble | yes | no |
Flat shapes
Flat shapes are also called plane shapes.
- a circle is round – it has a curved line
- a square has 4 straight sides, all the same length
- a rectangle has 4 straight sides – two long and two short
- a triangle has 3 straight sides
Faces of solids
The flat sides of a solid are called faces. A cube has square faces. The end of a cylinder is a circle. If you stamp a cuboid in paint, it can print a rectangle.
TRY ITShape spotter
Look carefully at each shape. Tap the answer.
Let’s practise
Try each one. Then tap Show answer to check.
1. What solid shape is a football?
Show answer
A sphere.
2. What solid shape is a tin of sardines?
Show answer
A cylinder.
3. Name a solid that can roll.
Show answer
A sphere, a cylinder or a cone.
4. Can you stack two spheres? Why?
Show answer
No. They have no flat faces, so they roll off.
5. How many sides does a triangle have?
Show answer
3 sides.
6. What flat shape is each face of a cube?
Show answer
A square.
Quick check
1. Which solid looks like a juice box?
Show answer
A cuboid.
2. Which flat shape has no straight sides?
Show answer
A circle.
3. Which solid has one flat face and a point?
Show answer
A cone.
Maths words
Say these words with a grown-up. Can you use each one in a sentence?
solid · plane shape · cube · cuboid · cylinder · cone · sphere · circle · square · rectangle · triangle · roll · stack · stand · pack · face · straight line · curved line · same · different · alike
Try it at home
- Go on a shape hunt in the kitchen. Find a cylinder, a cuboid and a sphere.
- Try to roll and stack things: a tin, a box, an orange. Which roll? Which stack?
- Dip the end of a toilet-roll tube and a small box in paint. Print the faces. What shapes do you see?
- Sort toys into “rolls” and “does not roll”.
For parents and teachers
After this lesson, your child should be able to:
- name the cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone and sphere and find them in everyday objects
- name the circle, square, rectangle and triangle
- sort solids by whether they roll, stack or stand
- match the faces of solids to flat shapes
- compare shapes using words such as same, different, straight and curved
Handling real objects matters more than pictures at this age. Grocery packaging is ideal.
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Attributions to media used in this post:
SolidShapes.png – Caduser2003 at ml.wikipedia – CC BY-SA 2.5 (via Wikimedia Commons)
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.