Understanding shapes in Class 7 mathematics for the ICSE curriculum involves learning about various geometric shapes, their properties, and how to calculate different parameters associated with them. Here’s a brief summary:

1. **Basic Shapes**: Students learn about basic shapes like triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, and polygons.

2. **Properties of Shapes**: They understand the properties of these shapes, such as the sum of interior angles of polygons, properties of different types of triangles (equilateral, isosceles, scalene), and properties of circles (radius, diameter, circumference, and area).

3. **Construction of Shapes**: Students learn to construct different shapes using a ruler and compass, following specific instructions.

4. **Perimeter and Area**: They calculate the perimeter and area of various shapes, including rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles.

5. **Volume and Surface Area**: Students learn to calculate the volume and surface area of basic 3D shapes like cubes, cuboids, cylinders, and spheres.

6. **Coordinate Geometry**: Introduction to coordinate geometry, understanding how to plot points on the Cartesian plane and find the distance between two points.

7. **Transformation of Shapes**: Basic understanding of transformations like translation, reflection, and rotation of shapes.

Understanding shapes is foundational in mathematics as it helps in visualizing problems and applying mathematical concepts in real-world scenarios.