Area and Perimeter

This interactive Powerpoint (consisting of 57 interactive slides plus printables) helps pupils to understand area and perimeter which students can often find confusing.

This resource initially focuses on the ideas of area being the covering of space in two dimensions and perimeter as being the boundary around an area of space. Pupils are encouraged to use various units for the measure of area, prior to appreciating why squares are the unit of measure that is commonly used.

Once pupils are comfortable with these ideas, they are encouraged to find areas by considering the number of squares in a row and the number of rows, thus linking the idea of area to multiplication. Ultimately this will lead to the use of a formula for calculating areas of rectangles, followed by the calculation of the area of triangles and parallelograms.

Statements are used to provoke discussion since pupils need to explain why they agree or disagree with the statement or give examples of the circumstances when the statement is true or false.

A range of models and images, interactive activities and games are utilised to encourage reasoning and develop understanding. Click on the thumbnails above for menus.

Games are also included to consolidate ideas and promote discussion by justifying choices. Instructions and demonstration slides for the games are provided, as well as printable resources, so that the games can be played as a whole class or within groups.

Misconceptions are explored, such as the perceived connections between perimeter and area, and why 8m² should be referred to as eight square metres rather than eight metres squared.

Practical applications of area are introduced such as thinking about how much green space people need within urban areas, how much it would cost to replace school carpets and how long it would take to clean the windows of the Shard building in London.

Printables and answers are included to minimise preparation time.

Each slide has accompanying notes to assist teachers when working on the development of concepts with pupils.