Area

Strand: Shape and Space (Measurement)
Outcome: 2

Step 3: Plan for Instruction

Guiding Questions

What learning opportunities and experiences should I provide to promote learning of the outcomes and permit students to demonstrate their learning?
What teaching strategies and resources should I use?
How will I meet the diverse learning needs of my students?

A. Assessing Prior Knowledge and Skills

Before introducing new material, consider ways to assess and build on students' knowledge and skills related to perimeter, area and volume.

Ways to Assess and Build on Prior Knowledge

B. Choosing Instructional Strategies

Consider the following strategies when planning lessons.

Build on students' prior knowledge of area.
Have students construct the formulas by applying their knowledge of the area of rectangles and rearranging the shapes of triangles, parallelograms and circles.
Have students demonstrate conservation of area so that they know the area remains the same when shapes are rearranged.
Provide students with many types of triangles and parallelograms when constructing meaning for the areas of these 2-D shapes.
Connect the area of a parallelogram to motion geometry. Convert a parallelogram into a rectangle by sliding a triangle.
Have students build meaning for the area of a parallelogram based on their understanding of the area of a rectangle. Then have them construct meaning for the area of a triangle by connecting it to the area of a parallelogram. Finally, have students construct meaning for the area of a circle by rearranging it into a parallelogram or a rectangle. Emphasize the connections among the formulas.
Promote discussions that guide students to discover that pi (π) is used for finding the circumference and the area of circles; i.e., π = C/d and π = A/r2.
Have students estimate before calculating the areas of parallelograms, triangles and circles.
Emphasize that the area of any 2-D shape has a numerical value and a unit. The unit for area is always the square unit even though units of length are used in the formula. Have students communicate the connection between the linear units of length and the square units for area by using diagrams.
Have students communicate why the linear units used in any formula must always be the same; i.e., if the base of a parallelogram is measured in centimetres, then the height must also be measured in centimetres.

C. Choosing Learning Activities

Learning Activities are examples of activities that could be used to develop student understanding of the concepts identified in Step 1.

Sample Learning Activities
Teaching the Formulas for the Areas of Parallelograms, Triangles and Circles	Download Activities