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Common Core MathKindergartenGeometry

K.G.5: Build and Draw Shapes

Also written as K.G.B.5 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.5 · Cluster: Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.

Make Graph PaperAll 22 Kindergarten Math Standards

The Official Wording

Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.

Common Core State Standards, Kindergarten, Geometry · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What K.G.5 Means in Plain English

Kindergartners make shapes with their hands: three straws joined with clay balls at the corners make a triangle, four make a square or a rectangle. Then they draw them, a rectangle for the door, a circle for the clock. Building makes the count of sides and corners real.

The clay balls are the corners and the straws are the sides, so a square needs four of each. In drawing, a closed shape with the right number of sides matters more than neat lines. In 1st grade children build and draw shapes to match defining attributes (1.G.1).

K.G.5 I Can Statements

  • I can build a shape with sticks and clay.
  • I can draw a circle, a square and a triangle.
  • I can draw the shape of something I see in the room.

K.G.5 Worked Example

A triangle built from straws and clay, then drawn, with the count that has to come out right both times.

Problem

Build a triangle with straws and clay balls, then draw one on your paper.

Building a triangle, then drawing it
  1. Think about what a triangle needs: three sides and three corners.3 straws, 3 clay balls
  2. Push a straw into a clay ball, then another straw into the same ball. That is one corner.straw, clay, straw
  3. Add the third straw and close it up, so every straw ends in a clay ball.a closed triangle, no loose ends
  4. Now draw it. Three straight lines that meet at three corners, with the last line coming back to the start.a drawn triangle, closed
  5. Count both. The built one and the drawn one must agree.3 sides, 3 corners, both times
AnswerA triangle with three straws for sides and three clay balls for corners, and a drawn triangle with three sides that meet.

Check it: Lift the built triangle by one corner. If it holds together, every side is joined. Then trace the drawn one with a finger without lifting it. If you get back to the start, it is closed.

Common Mistakes with K.G.5

A gap in the shape

Three straws laid out, but one corner never meets, so the shape is open

Try this: Have the child trace the shape with a finger without lifting it. If the finger runs off the end, the shape needs closing.

Too many sides

A “square” built from five straws, or drawn with a fifth side

Try this: Set out exactly the materials the shape needs before building: four straws and four balls for a square, no extras in reach.

Drawing the object, not its shape

Asked to draw the shape of the clock, the child draws the clock with numbers and hands

Try this: Trace the outline of the real object with a finger first, then ask for only that outline on paper. The shape is the edge.

Where K.G.5 Fits

Comes BeforeK.G.2Name shapes in any size or position, so the builder knows what to aim for.K.G.4Count a shape’s sides and corners, which tells how many straws and clay balls to use.
AlongsideK.G.6Join simple shapes to make a larger one.K.G.1Name the shapes of objects in the room, the ones worth drawing.
Comes Next1.G.1Build and draw shapes that have the defining attributes, like three closed sides.2.G.1Draw shapes with a given number of angles or equal faces.

Practice K.G.5

Graph Paper GeneratorFree ToolLarge-square grid paper keeps young lines straight: students draw a square along four grid lines, a rectangle along six, and a triangle corner to corner, then count the sides.Large squaresOne page
Make Graph Paper
Math Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolKindergarten shape pages with dotted shapes to trace and an empty box to draw the same shape freehand, one shape per row.KindergartenShapes
Make a Worksheet

Quick Check

  1. How many sticks and how many clay balls do you need to build a square?
  2. You built a shape with 3 sticks and 3 clay balls. What shape is it?
  3. Omar wants to draw the shape of the classroom door. What should his drawing look like?

K.G.5: Other Names

K.G.5K.G.B.5CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.5

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.