Planning tool

Students:

• describe the concept of area
• compare and calculate the area of a range of shapes using informal and formal measurements
• choose and use the correct metric units to measure different areas.

Some students may:

• confuse area and perimeter; make explicit that perimeter is the boundary of a shape and is a measurement of length and that area is the boundary space within the boundary and measured in squares or square units such as square metres.
• not yet realise the importance of measuring area using uniform units (where all units are the same size). Show two squares of different sizes measured with different sized units that result in having an equal area. Ask students to use their geometrical reasoning to explain why the area is not equal.
• believe that when measuring an area it doesn't matter if they don't completely cover an area region, or leave gaps when measuring repeatedly using a unit square.
• use an incorrect unit to measure area, for example, centimetres and not square centimetres.

The Learning from home activities are designed to be used flexibly by teachers, parents and carers, as well as the students themselves. They can be used in a number of ways including to consolidate and extend learning done at school or for home schooling.

Learning intention

• We are learning how to measure area using formal units.

Why are we learning about this?

• Area helps you to quantify physical space. In real life, area measurements can help with working out quantities, for example, how many pavers are needed to cover the ground in an outdoor part of your backyard.

What to do

For this activity, you will need 1 cm grid (graph) paper or you can use the grid provided.

2. Your task is to come up with a design for an area that needs paving with square paving blocks. The area needs to be equal to 36 square units.
3. Use the grid paper to draw shapes that have an area of 36 square units. You need to make sure each square shares at least one side with another.
4. Here is an example, of different shapes made with 24 squares where each square shares at least one side with another. Each shape has an area of 24 square units.

Success criteria

I can:

• describe the area of a rectangular shape in square units
• create shapes that have an area of a given amount.