Free Printable Rectangle Shape

All tangled up when it comes to rectangles? Use this free printable rectangle shape to help your kids grasp math concepts like how to find the area of rectangles and the perimeter of rectangles. Plus, get ideas on less math intensive uses for this rectangle printable! 🙂

There are only a few things that remind you of your age like trying to help your child with math homework. I mean, come on, geometry wasn’t that long ago, right? (Don’t answer that!) Luckily, printables, like this rectangle template printable can help.

And yes, I realize that I say that printables can help with just about everything, but that’s only because it’s true!

In addition to this free rectangle shape printable, I’m also going to include an all-things-rectangle refresher in this post, so get ready to crunch some numbers! 😉 Don’t worry, it won’t hurt nearly as bad as crunching abs … well, probably not. The refresher will cover:

What is a rectangle, including the basic properties of rectangles.
How do rectangles compare to other shapes? For example, is a square a rectangle? Are all rectangles parallelograms?
Basic rectangle geometry including how to find the area of a rectangle, how to find the perimeter of a rectangle, and how to find volume of a rectangle.

Psst! A lot of the rectangle refresher is geared toward middle or even high school-age children (not your preschooler or kindergartner). However, if you have a little one at home it doesn’t mean that you can’t put this rectangle printable to use. Here are some ideas:

Use it as part of an arts or crafts project; for example to teach your child how to draw a rectangle.
Use it as a (very) simple coloring sheet. Coloring can help improve motor coordination and promote creativity, the use of imagination, and relaxation. (Psst! If you want more exciting coloring pages, you can download free printable coloring pages here.)
Use it as a piece in a homemade game, like a matching game. Your matching game could use shapes, letters, numbers, etc. to help your child develop focus and visual memory skills! For example, you could challenge them to match uppercase letters with lowercase letters. (Psst! You can download free printable bubble letters and bubble numbers here.)

Bonus: Are you looking to get in shape? Or should I say get shapes? Head to the Freebie Finding Mom shop to get my 132-page shapes bundle now!

In this 132-page printable shapes worksheets bundle in the Freebie Finding Mom shop you’ll get printable shape tracing worksheets, matching shapes worksheets, shapes coloring pages, counting shapes worksheets, shape pattern worksheets, printable shapes, 2D shapes charts, and shapes flashcards. If you need preschool shapes worksheets or shapes worksheets for kindergarten, you’ll find that and more here! Snag this incredible shapes bundle now!

Now that you’re inspired to use this rectangle template printable, let’s get into the refresher!

First, A Rectangle Definition

Before we can answer questions like how do you find the area of a rectangle or how do you find the perimeter of a rectangle, let’s start with the basics—a rectangle definition. If someone were to ask you “what is a rectangle,” I bet you could immediately picture the shape and even draw it, but could you explain it in easy to understand terms?

To help you, here are some properties of rectangles:

A closed figure.
A figure with four straight sides.
A figure with 4 right angles (90 degrees), which means all 4 angles are equal to one another.
A figure where the opposite (parallel) sides are equal in length.

Based on those properties of rectangles, can we now answer what is a rectangle? How about: A closed figure with 4 straight sides, 4 right angles, and with opposite (parallel) sides that are equal in length.

Wait, is a square a rectangle?
To answer this, compare the rectangle definition (above) to the square definition. A square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has:

Four equal sides.
Four equal angles (90 degrees).
Opposite sides that are parallel.

That means the answer to “are all squares rectangles” is technically yes. In other words, squares are a type of rectangle. Think of it this way—thumbs are a type of finger, right?

So can a square be a rectangle? Yes. In fact, technically, the answer to “are all squares rectangles” is yes. However, that does not mean that all rectangles are squares. Going back to that whole “thumbs are a type of finger thing,” not all fingers are thumbs.

Is a rectangle a parallelogram?
Before we can determine the answer to are all rectangles parallelograms, we have to first know what a parallelogram is. A parallelogram is a quadrilateral in which the opposite sides are parallel. That means if you kept extending those lines, they would never cross or intersect.

Based on that, and referring back to the rectangle definition, we can answer the question is a rectangle a parallelogram with a resounding yes! We know that the opposites sides of a rectangle are parallel, which makes it qualify as a parallelogram.

Is a rectangle a rhombus?
Again, in order to determine the answer to is a rectangle a rhombus we need to understand what a rhombus is. A rhombus is a quadrilateral with four equal sides.

So the answer to is a rectangle a rhombus is maybe, it’s possible. A rectangle could be a rhombus, but definitely not always. The rhombus in question would have to have four equal sides and four equal 90 degree angles, which would make it a square. And as we’ve already discussed in the section “Wait, is a square a rectangle,” a square is a type of rectangle.

Download the Printable Rectangle Shape

Whew! That was a lot of shape definitions—rectangles, squares, parallelograms, and rhombuses! Who knew math and vocabulary could go hand in hand?

Before we dive into the number crunching portion of this post, like how to use the area of rectangle formula or the perimeter of rectangle formula, I’d like to invite you to download the rectangle printable. It may be very useful in demonstrating the math concepts to your child (or yourself) as you work through them!

Click here to download

How Many Lines of Symmetry Does a Rectangle Have

Before we get to how many lines of symmetry does a rectangle have, let’s define what a “line of symmetry is.” (Noticing a theme here? 😉 )

A line of symmetry is a line that cuts a shape perfectly in half, meaning that if you were to fold the shape along that line both halves would match exactly.

So the answer to how many lines of symmetry does a rectangle have is 2 because there are 2 ways you could fold a rectangle perfectly in half.

Have a preschooler or kindergartener? These printable rectangle tracing worksheets will come in handy.

printable rectangle shape tracing worksheets

Bonus: Add some color to your day with a pre-colored free rectangle template printable.

How to Find the Perimeter of a Rectangle

Feel yourself slipping into an anxiety ridden memory of your high school geometry class? Take a deep breath! We’re going to start with something easy—the perimeter of rectangle formula.

What is the perimeter of a rectangle? Well, when we talk about perimeter, we’re just talking about the length of the outline of a shape. So when you’re asked what is the perimeter of a rectangle, what you’re being asked for is what is the measurement of the outline of the rectangle.

So how do you find the perimeter of a rectangle? You simply add up the length of all four sides. There are a few different ways the perimeter of rectangle formula can be written, but to keep it simple, use:
Perimeter = (2 * L) + (2 * W)

Tip: When figuring out what is the perimeter of a rectangle, don’t forget your order of operations! When solving math problems you want to do things in this order:

Parentheses
Exponents
Multiplication or Division
Addition or Subtraction

So in how to find the perimeter of a rectangle, you’re going to do things in this order:

Multiply the length of rectangle by 2.
Multiply the width of rectangle by 2.
Add those two numbers together.

How to Find the Area of Rectangles

What is the area of a rectangle? Well, when we talk about area, we’re talking about the total space an object (like a rectangle) is taking up. So, the perimeter is the outside measurement and the area is the total inside space being occupied. If you’re looking at the colored rectangle shape printable, the part that is colored in is the area.

The good news is that you do not need an area of rectangle calculator to find the area. Okay, maybe if you were dealing with a really large rectangle or decimal points you would want an area of rectangle calculator, but I think you’ll be able to figure out what is the area of a rectangle by hand. I believe in you! 😉

Finding the area of rectangles is not as hard as some other shapes (like octagon shapes, for example). So this is a great place to start if you suspect your geometry skills are a little rusty.

For how do you find the area of a rectangle, you will need to know the length and width of a rectangle. If you have those two pieces of information, just deploy the area of rectangle formula:
Area = Length * Width

Yep, that’s it, the area of rectangle formula is just multiplying two numbers together!

But how do you find the area of a rectangle if you aren’t given the length and width of a rectangle?
Don’t worry, I can show you how to find the area of a rectangle even if some information is missing. The good news is that no one should be giving you a totally blank rectangle shape and saying “what is the area of a rectangle?” Take a look at what information you have. What if you have the perimeter and the measurement of the width?

Let’s say the perimeter is 100 inches and the width is 20 inches. We can undo the perimeter of rectangle formula to find the length, and then we can calculate the area! Here’s how to find the length of a rectangle, in this situation.

Remember, the formula for the perimeter is Perimeter = (2 * length) + (2 * width), so our formula would look like this:
100 = (2 * length) + (2 * 20)
100 = (2L) + 40
60 = 2L
30 = L

That means the length of your rectangle is 30 inches and the width is 20 inches. You can now calculate the area by multiplying the two together! This example showed you how to find the length of a rectangle, but it would work just the same way for how to find the width of a rectangle.

Again, restating for emphasis, how to find the width of a rectangle is the exact same process!

What is the surface area of a rectangle?
When we talk about the surface area of a shape, generally we’re referring to a three dimensional object vs. a two dimensional figure. Therefore, the question would not be “what is the surface area of a rectangle” but rather “what is the surface area of a rectangular prism.”

Now, technically, you could find the surface area of a rectangle since surface area just refers to a measure of the total area that the surface of the object occupies. In the case of a two dimensional rectangle, surface area would just be the area. (Remember, area = length * width.)

How to Find the Volume of a Rectangle

Technically, the answer to how to find the volume of a rectangle is that you can’t. That’s because rectangles are two dimensional figures and the concept of volume applies to three dimensional objects. Volume is a measure of the amount of space in an object.

So rather than a volume of rectangle formula, you’ll be looking for a volume of rectangular prism formula which is:
Volume = length * width * height

So, remember, if someone asks you for the volume of rectangle formula, what they really need is a the formula for finding the volume of a rectangular prism!

Free Printable 2D Shapes

Are you ready to think outside the box? (Or should I say outside the rectangle?) If so, here are more printable 2D shapes you can download right now!

Download this free printable 2D shapes chart in black and white or this free printable 2D shapes chart in color.

free printable circle shape — Circle Shape

free printable square shape — Circle Shape

Or if a specific shape caught your eye you can download it here:

Coloring Pages Beyond the Printable Rectangle Shape

Okay, this rectangle printable isn’t a super exciting coloring sheet … although you could challenge your kid to draw something inside the rectangle, such as what they see out their bedroom window or a self portrait (what they see in the mirror). However, if you want some fun (and frugal, of course) coloring sheets download: