basic geometric shapes with google drawings

Introduction

In this lesson, we will be learning how to create basic geometric shapes. Use the shapes in assignments and assessments. The shapes are created using Google Drawings. The tools in Drawings makes the process of creating the shapes simple.

The final products in this lesson are available and free on my Teacher Pay Teacher store. I have created some free assignments and assessments for you. They are on my Teacher Pay Teacher storefront. Use the links below to access those resources. I encourage you to go through the lesson and create the shapes yourself. The process adds to your skillset.

Google Drawing shapes on Teacher Pay Teacher

Google Drawings

Create a folder in your Google Drive to store the geometric shapes. Here I have my geometry folder inside my assignments folder.

geometry folder in Google Drive

Within the geometry folder, I have a 2D shapes and a 3D shapes folder. Create a folder for your 2D shapes.

2D shapes folder

Create a new Google Drawing.

Google Drawings menu selection

Set the name of the drawing to Square. We will begin with something simple.

Google Drawing name changed

Drawing setup

The default canvas has a size ratio set at four by three. I like to have a square-shaped canvas. This gives me a consistent framework for the shapes in the final product. Click File and select Page Setup.

Google Drawing page setup

Click the page setup selector and choose custom.

page setup custom option

Set the width and height values to 10 inches. Apply the changes.

page width and height settings

The square

Click the shapes selector button. Select the rectangle tool.

shapes rectangle tool

The rectangle creates a free form rectangular shape. The shape we want here is a square. We need to constrain the shape to a square. There is a keystroke that helps us. Press and hold the shift key while dragging out the shape.

square shaped drawn on canvas

The shape does not need to fill the canvas. We will take care of that in the next step. Click the Format options button.

format options button in the button bar

Open the Position option.

position option in the format options panel

Set the x and y values to 1-inch.

values set to one inch

The values place the top left corner one inch away from both the top and left edges of the drawing canvas.

the square shown in the upper left of the canvas

Open the Size & Rotation settings. Set the width and height to 8-inches.

width and height set to eight inches in the size & rotation section

The shape is centered on the canvas with a 1-inch space all the way around.

the square shape on the canvas with a one inch space all around

Click the shape fill tool. Select white.

white selected from the shape fill tool

Click the border width tool. Set the width to 4-pixels.

four pixels selected for the border width

text box tool in button bar

Click once in the area between the box and the edge of the canvas.

text box above square shape

Change the font size to 30 points. Type a capital letter A in the text box. Click the resize handle on the right and drag it toward the left. Stop before you get to the letter.

capital letter A in text box

Click and drag one of the text box sides to position the letter near the corner of the square.

text box position at top left corner of square

Click Edit and select Duplicate. Click and drag the duplicate letter to the right side of the square. Use the red alignment guide to keep the text boxes aligned. Double click in the text box. Change the letter from A to B.

text box with letter B on top right corner

Click once on once of the text box sides. Duplicate this text box. Move the text box to the bottom right of the box. Change the letter from B to C.

text box with the letter C in the lower right corner of square shape

Duplicate this text box. Move the duplicate to the lower-left corner of the square. Change the letter from C to D.

Our square is done. The letters are used in the assignment to refer to the sides.

The rectangle

To save time we will use the square as a starter. Click File and select Make a copy.

make a copy option

Change the name to Rectangle. Click the Ok button. Click once on the shape. Open the Format options. Open the size & rotation option. Change the height to 4-inches. Open the position option. Change the Y value to 3-inches. Make sure the rectangle is centered vertically.

Move each of the text boxes close to each corner. Use the alignment guides to help position them.

That completes our rectangle.

rectangle shape

Right triangle

Return to Google Drive. Click File and select new Drawing. Change the page size to 10 inches by 10 inches. Name the new drawing Right Triangle. Click the shapes tool and select the right triangle tool.

right triangle tool from shapes selector

Drag out a small right triangle on the canvas.

right triangle shape on canvas

The options for the right triangle are almost identical to those for the square. Set the position for the triangle. Set X and Y to one inch. Set the width and height to 8-inches. Use the text box to create letters for each angle. Set the background color to white. Set the border thickness to 4 pixels.

right triangle shape on canvas

Right triangles face in different directions. Let's create those different right-triangle options. Make a copy of this drawing. Name the new drawing Right Triangle B. Select the triangle. Click Format options. Open size & rotation. Click the rotate by 90-degrees button once.

rotate shape by 90-degrees button

Reposition the letter B. We have our second right-triangle option.

inverted right triangle

Create two more right-triangle options. Rotate each by the same 90-degrees. Name the right-triangles with the letters C and D.

Regular triangles

There are many other triangle forms. There are isosceles, equilateral, acute, obtuse, and scalene.

Create a new drawing. Set the page size to 10 by 10 inches. Name the drawing isosceles triangle. Click the shapes tool button. Select the triangle tool.

triangle tool from shapes selector

Draw a triangle shape on the canvas. This triangle shape is used to create a variety of triangles. Use the format options panel to set the hight larger than the width. This makes an isosceles triangle. Add text boxes with the letters A, B, and C for each angle.

triangle shape

In assignments, students need to solve for the area. To calculate the area, they need to know the height. We need a line to mark the height of the triangle.

Click the shapes selector and choose the line tool.

line tool from shapes selector

Click and drag a short line on the canvas. The line needs to be vertical. Hold the Shift key while drawing the line.

vertical line next to the triangle shape

Click the line color tool and choose a dark grey. Set the line thickness to 3 pixels. Set the line style to dashed. Press the ESC key on your keyboard to release the line.

Drag the line toward the center of the triangle. A center alignment guide appears to help align the shapes. Release the line.

line centered in triangle shape

Drag the ends to stretch the line. The triangle has connection points. This helps connect the line to the center of the lines or the corners on the triangle.

stretching line point

Stretch the bottom of the line. Attach it to the line connector.

vertical line bottom connected to base of triangle

This completes the isosceles triangle.

Equilateral triangle

Make a copy of the isosceles triangle. Set the name of the drawing to Equilateral Triangle. Change the width and height. Use 8-inches for each. Reposition the text boxes as needed.

equilateral triangle

Scalene triangle

Make a copy of the equilateral triangle. Rename the file to Scalene Triangle. All the sides of a scalene triangle are different. There is an orange anchor at the top of the triangle. Click and drag the anchor to the left or right.

triangle anchor point moved to left

Shrink and stretch the bounding box until you have a triangle with different angles and sides. Move the letters to match the new angle positions.

a basic scalene triangle

After deforming the shape, it is no longer centered. It also doesn't fill the canvas. Drag a selection around the shape and the letters.

a selection around all the objects on the drawing canvas

Drag the shape and letters selection toward the center of the canvas. Use the vertical and horizontal alignment guides.

Repeat this process to create different scalene triangles.

Circle

The circle will be our last shape. By now you should understand the process.

Create a new drawing. Set the canvas page settings. Choose the oval tool from the shapes selector.

Drag out a circle shape on the canvas. Use the Shift key to constrain the shape to a circle.

small circle on canvas

Use the format options panel to set the height and width of the circle. Set each to eight inches. Change the fill color. Choose white. Set the border thickness. Choose 4 pixels.

basic circle shape

Get the line tool. Create a dashed line. Connect the dashed line to opposite ends of the circle. This marks the diameter of the circle.

circle diameter with dashed line

Duplicate the diameter line. Connect one end to the center of the diameter line. Connect the other end to a separate point on the circle. This is the radius.

radius line connected to diameter line

Create labels A, B, C and D. Place them where the lines touch each other or the circle's circumference.

circle with letter markers

Assignments with shapes

There are plenty of shapes available in Google Drawings to create a wide variety of geometric shapes. Use the shapes and Google Docs to create assignments and assessments. Here is an example of an assignment.

geometry assignment in a google document with reference to the images we created

The students determine the perimeter or area of rectangles and squares. I used a table in Google Docs to organize the shapes and questions. Using letters for points on the shape allows me to identify them as line segments. This then allows me to provide measurement information. I have free samples on my Teacher Pay Teacher storefront.