Area – How much room?

L.I:

I can construct a square metre and use it to measure areas.

I can estimate and measure to the nearest square metre.

Materials:

*Newspaper or scrap paper, tape, measuring tape or 1m ruler.

Instructions:

*Draw a metre square on the floor using chalk and a metre ruler.

What is this unit called? (square metre)

*Get the students to make square metres using newspaper or recycled cardboard and tape.

*Ask the students to estimate the area of the classroom in metre squares. Write estimates on the board.

*Mark out the required mat area within your classroom, by laying down square metres. You might highlight that many different arrangements of the squares are possible. Those arrangements all have the same area.

*Students work in groups to measure the area of the classroom using their metre squares. May need chalk to mark each point the square ends to be accurate before moving the position.

Discuss: Is there a more efficient way of measuring the area of the classroom? eg L x W.

En: use a smaller area, mixed ability grouping

More information: https://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/how-much-room