2D Shapes: Write the Names

Six long rows run down this 1st grade page, each with one shape in a white circle on the left and a three-line handwriting lane beside it. A dashed box across the top holds the four names to copy from: rectangle, triangle, square and circle. On the sheet shown the shapes are a tilted rectangle, a circle, a tilted square, a thin triangle leaning to one side, a flat rectangle and an upright square, so rectangle and square each appear twice and two of the six are turned.

Writing a name is a harder retrieval than circling one. On the base page the right word was one of three chips; here the child has to know which word goes with the drawing, find it in the box and copy it letter by letter onto a ruled line, and all four names are in play for every row. That makes it a first grade production page for a kindergarten naming skill, and it is honest about that: it reviews the names rather than adding a new idea. The two tilted four-sided shapes are where the thinking happens, since telling the square from the rectangle depends on the side lengths, not the angle.

One sheet, six shapes, six written names. The word box stays on the page, so spelling is supported but not given away. If a child writes the right name with a reversed letter, the shape knowledge is there and the handwriting is a separate conversation. This face pairs well with the riddles face, which asks for the same four names from a description instead of a drawing.