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Circle template
Circles in four sizes, from small ones for stickers to a single 6.5 inch circle per page. It is for stencils, paper plates, collage, masks and anything that needs a clean round shape.
- Set it up your way
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
A good circle is useful in more ways than it first seems: for planets, wheels, faces, buttons and flower centers. Drawing one around a cup works, but the size is whatever the cup is. This page gives you set sizes.
What prints
The page is called "Circle Template". Under the title a line explains that each shape is cut along its outline and can serve as a stencil. Then the circles fill the sheet in neat rows, each drawn with a single closed line and a small gap between them. The sheet has no name line or key.
The number of circles depends on the size. Small ones cover most of the page with a long grid, while the One per page option gives one circle about 6.5 inches across.
The settings
- Shape: opens on Circle. You can change to Heart, Star, Square, Triangle, Diamond, Hexagon, Oval or a mixed page of all eight.
- Size: the diameters offered are 1.5 in (Small), 2.4 in (Medium), 3.5 in (Large) and 6.5 in (One per page), all approximate. Preset: Large.
- Dashed cutting lines: solid unless switched on.
- Print the shape names: adds "circle" under every circle in small grey letters.
The sizes above are diameters. Print at Actual size, as scaling to fit changes them.
Ideas for using circles
Large circles make good faces for paper puppets and the bodies of paper animals. Medium ones become ladybugs, suns and pizza toppings. Small circles are handy for hole-punch-style dots, eyes, coins in a pretend shop and counters for a board game. One per page works for a clock face, a wheel for a spinner, or the round part of a mask that you color.
For a sturdy stencil, print on card stock, about 65 to 110 lb, and cut out the middle as well, leaving a ring. Then you can trace the circle's outline over and over. For cutting, use blunt-tip scissors with children, and an adult should help with thick stock.
Worked example: a paper plate clock
A parent wants to teach a seven-year-old to tell time. They choose One per page and print on card stock. The child cuts out the circle, writes 12, 3, 6 and 9 first, and then fills in the rest. Two strips of colored paper make the hands, joined with a brass fastener through the center. They check the clock against the kitchen one every day for a week and move the hands to match. When the circle edge is wobbly, the child trims it again. It does not matter that the cut is imperfect, because the numbers matter more than the edge.
More cutouts
The star template and heart template work the same way, and shapes to cut out covers all eight outlines. NRICH has more activities on shapes for school-age learners.