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EDUC 7520

Measurement and Data: Perimeter and Area Grade 3

Lesson Title Duration

60 min
Measurement
Design Your Dream School! Showing What You
& Data (with more
Activity Know About Perimeter and Area time allotted
per teacher
discretion)

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.5
Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of
area measurement.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.6
Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in,
square ft, and improvised units).

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.7
Relate area to the operations of multiplication and addition.

Common CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.7.A
Core State Find the area of a rectangle with whole-number side lengths by tiling
Standards it, and show that the area is the same as would be found by
(CCSS) in multiplying the side lengths.
Mathematics
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.7.B
Multiply side lengths to find areas of rectangles with whole-number
side lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical
problems, and represent whole-number products as rectangular areas
in mathematical reasoning.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.D.8
Solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of
polygons, including finding the perimeter given the side lengths, finding an
unknown side length, and exhibiting rectangles with the same perimeter and
different areas or with the same area and different perimeters.
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EDUC 7520

SWBAT apply their understanding of perimeter and area of rectangles and

polygons to a real-world situation by taking on the role of architect to create
Objectives
a blueprint of their own Dream School that requires dimensions, calculated
area and perimeter, and units of measurement for at least 5 rooms.

Materials Instructional Equipment

• 11x14 graph paper (number of
students x 2, for mistakes)
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Sharpies (for outlining perimeter of
each room)
• Room calculations sheets [see
Appendix A] (number of students x6,
extras for mistakes)
• Markers, colored pencils
• Scrap paper (for mathematics work)
For extensions:
• Access to internet for students (via
iPad, laptop, desktop, etc.)
• Pre-made Dream School (teacher
model)
• Graph paper (projected onto white
board)
• Projector
• White board markers
• Model of completed room
calculations sheets for each room of
teacher model Dream School
For extensions:
• Pre-determined website for flooring
options and prices
• Plots of land w/ area in square units
for students to use to build a Dream
School on

Lesson Plan

Lesson Demonstrating Understanding of Area and Perimeter of Rectangles and

Topic Polygons

Now that we’ve learned how to calculate perimeter and area of rectangles
and polygons, shapes that have straight sides but are what we like to call
“Funky Freds,” YOU are going to become architects. Starting today, you will
take on the role of designing your own Dream School. Have you ever wanted a
Introduction
swimming pool at school? Maybe a petting zoo to visit between PE and math?
Well, today you get to design your own school with whatever rooms you want
in them! Let me show you mine, and then we’ll get into the rules before I send
you off to start planning and designing.
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EDUC 7520

1. Show students the teacher model of the Dream School. (Either with
projector or pinned onto board). Here is my Dream School. There are 5
rooms in it, and that is the number that you must have as well. In my
School, I chose to have an Art Room, a Baseball Diamond, a Movie
Theater, a Ball Pit, and a Reading Room. Turn and talk to someone
near you to brainstorm a few ideas about what you would want in your
Dream School – maybe write them down, too, if you think you’ll forget!
2. Allow students time to brainstorm, then bring back the class by asking
students to share out any ideas they came up with to increase buy-
in/excitement about the task. These are great ideas. Now, since you’re
architects of your own Dream School, what kind of information do you
think you’ll need to include on your blueprint? Take a look at my
blueprint and see if you can figure it out.
3. Allow students to look at the projected example and determine that
there are calculations of perimeter and area for all rooms. As an
architect, you need to provide not only the dimensions of your rooms,
but the area and perimeter of each so that builders can follow your
plans and make the building exactly the way you want it to look.
Instruction
Therefore, you need to be careful in not only drawing your blueprint,
and
but doing the calculations you need as well!
Application
4. Quickly review the difference between perimeter and area, and the
operations used for each. Can anyone remind me of how to find the
perimeter? What about the area? How would I label each of these
measurements?
5. Once refreshed, review the instructions of the task and make sure
students understand their job and open up to questions.
6. Before we begin, I want to give you the three rules of this task. You can
have whatever rooms you’d like, but (1) you must have at least 5 rooms
(2) you must find the area and perimeter of all the rooms, like we
discussed, and (3) your rooms must have an area of at least 200 square
units. Use the room calculations sheets on the back work table to help
you organize your calculations on your blueprint. You can tape them on
the front or the back of the blueprint, but make sure you have them!
7. Write these rules on the whiteboard so that they’re available for
students to check back on during worktime. Ask for any questions,
then send them off. (Have materials laid out on work table for students
to grab and begin. Remember to stress the use of the room
calculations sheets)

Formative:
Assessment Observe students working on their Dream Schools for ability to understand
the difference between area and perimeter (and how to calculate both).
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Notice if students are able to work with both rectangles and polygons. Also
note if students are able to work with multiplication as much as possible,
rather than relying solely on repeated addition.

Evaluate the final product for ability to calculate area and perimeter, label
measurement units, and demonstrate the appropriate use of addition and
multiplication when calculating. Use the room calculations sheets to
determine if their mathematics is on target and their work is shown. Assess
for their ability to understand the units of measurements via labels on their
calculations.

For students who finish early and/or show mastery of perimeter and area
early on, these extensions of this activity can be used to challenge students
further:
• Have students create more than 5 rooms.
• Give students a limit of the TOTAL square units they can use for a
Dream School (framed as a plot of land that they can use, make sure
Extensions
to include outdoor and indoor spaces). They must stick to the space
allotted.
• Have students use their calculations of area to purchase flooring for
the rooms they have designed. Challenge them to research flooring
prices (via a website provided by the teacher) and calculate the total
cost of flooring per room.
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EDUC 7520
Appendix A: Room Calculations Sheets
ROOM # _______ ROOM # _______

NAME OF ROOM: NAME OF ROOM:

_____________________________________ _____________________________________

AREA: _______________________________ AREA: _______________________________

Show your work here: Show your work here:

PERIMETER: __________________________ PERIMETER: __________________________

Show your work here: Show your work here:

*don’t forget your units! *don’t forget your units!

ROOM # _______ ROOM # _______

NAME OF ROOM: NAME OF ROOM:

_____________________________________ _____________________________________

AREA: _______________________________ AREA: _______________________________

Show your work here: Show your work here:

PERIMETER: __________________________ PERIMETER: __________________________

Show your work here: Show your work here:

*don’t forget your units! *don’t forget your units!