Free printable lines line segments and rays chart

Grades 3–8Point, line, ray and segment, plus parallel, perpendicular and intersecting — what each one means, how it is drawn, and how it is written down. Print it for the wall, or tap the diagrams below to see the notation for each.

Lines and Line Segments math chart for kids Tap the chart to open it at full size

Seven things, and how to write them

Tap any diagram for its definition, its notation and something everyday to picture. The drawings carry the information: arrows mean it carries on forever, dots mean it stops there.

That one convention sorts out most of the confusion. A line has arrows at both ends because it never stops. A ray has a dot at one end and an arrow at the other. A segment has dots at both ends, which is why it is the only one you can actually measure.

Start with the segment for that reason. Every length in geometry — the side of a triangle, the width of a rectangle, the base of a shape — is a segment, even though nobody says so. Lines and rays cannot have a length, because they do not end.

Tap one to see how it is written

What it is
Tap any diagram above
How it is written
—
Look for one of these
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Arrows mean it carries on forever. Dots mean it stops there.

How to use this lines chart at home

Point at real ones. Railway tracks and the opposite edges of a door are parallel. A window frame corner is perpendicular. Open scissors are intersecting lines. Ten minutes of spotting these does more than a page of naming diagrams.

Draw them with a ruler and say what you are drawing. Two dots and a line between them is a segment. Add an arrow and it becomes a ray. Add another and it is a line. The three are one drawing with different endings, and drawing them in that order makes the relationship obvious.

Then use the words when helping with shapes. A square has two pairs of parallel sides and four perpendicular corners. Saying it that way, rather than just square, quietly builds the vocabulary that Grade 6 geometry assumes.

The arrows and dots carry the meaning

Every one of these diagrams is the same straight mark with different ends, and the ends are the information. An arrow says this carries on forever; a dot says it stops right here.

That is why a segment is the only one with a length. Asking how long a line is has no answer, and a child who understands the arrows will see why rather than having to remember a rule.

It also explains the naming. A segment can be called AB or BA because both ends are the same kind of thing. A ray must start with its endpoint, because the two ends are genuinely different.

Parallel, perpendicular and just intersecting

Any two straight lines on a flat surface do exactly one of two things: they are parallel and never meet, or they cross at exactly one point. There is no third option, which is a tidier fact than it first appears.

Perpendicular is not a separate category but a special case of crossing — the one where the angle happens to be 90 degrees. Every pair of perpendicular lines is also a pair of intersecting lines, in the same way every square is also a rectangle.

The symbols help more than usual here. The parallel sign is literally two parallel strokes and the perpendicular sign is a corner. Pointing that out saves children memorizing two abstract marks.

Where lines usually go wrong

Calling everything a line. Line, ray and segment get used interchangeably, and the arrows on the diagram are the thing that distinguishes them.

Naming a ray backwards. Ray AB starts at A; ray BA starts at B. They point in opposite directions and are not the same ray.

Measuring a line. Only segments have a length. If a question asks how long something is, it is a segment, whatever it has been called.

Assuming lines that look parallel are parallel. In a diagram, only the marks or the question tell you — and lines that appear to converge slightly may simply be drawn imprecisely.

After the chart goes up

A chart explains the idea but gives a child nothing to do. These do the rest.

Everything at this level: Grade 3 math · Grade 4 math · Grade 5 math · Grade 6 math · Grade 7 math · Grade 8 math

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Questions parents ask

What is the difference between a line and a line segment?

A line goes on forever in both directions and is drawn with arrows on each end. A line segment is a piece of a line with two endpoints, drawn with dots. Only the segment has a length, because only the segment stops.

What is a ray?

A part of a line with one endpoint that goes on forever in the other direction. Sunlight is the usual picture — it starts at the sun and keeps going. A ray is named with its endpoint first, so ray AB and ray BA are different rays.

What are parallel lines?

Lines that stay exactly the same distance apart and never meet, however far you extend them. The symbol is two small vertical strokes, which is the symbol looking like the thing it describes. Railway tracks are the standard example.

What are perpendicular lines?

Lines that cross at a right angle. They are marked with a small square at the crossing point, and the symbol is an upside-down T. Perpendicular lines are also intersecting lines — they are the special case where the angle is exactly 90 degrees.

How do you name a line?

With two points on it, written as capital letters with a symbol above. A bar means a segment, a single arrow means a ray, and a double arrow means a line. For a line or a segment the order does not matter, but for a ray it does — the endpoint always comes first.

What grade is this lines chart for?

Grades 3 to 8. Recognizing and naming lines, rays and segments usually arrives in Grade 3 or 4, parallel and perpendicular in Grade 4, and the notation gets used steadily through middle school geometry.

Is this lines chart free to print?

Yes. Open it full size and print as many copies as you need for home or a classroom, with no account and no watermark. Reselling it or re-hosting the file elsewhere is not allowed — link to this page instead.