Area of a parallelogram

A complete lesson for introducing the area rule of a parallelogram.

Activities included:

Starter:
A couple of area mazes to remind them of the rule for rectangles.

Main:

• A prompt for pupils to discuss or think about what a parallelogram is, followed by 2 questions, where pupils are shown a set of shapes and have to identify which ones are parallelograms.
• Animated examples showing the classic dissection and rearrangement of a parallelogram into a rectangle, leading naturally to a derivation of the area rule.
• Animated examples of using a ruler and set square to measure the base and perpendicular height, before calculating area.
• A worksheet where pupils must do the same. This is worth doing now, to make pupils think carefully about perpendicular height, rather than just multiplying given dimensions together.
• Examples and a worksheet where pupils must select the relevant information from not-to-scale diagrams.
• Extension task of pupils using knowledge of factors to solve an area puzzle.

Plenary:

• Spot the mistake discussion question.
• Nice animation to show why the rule works.
• Link to an online geogebra file (no software required) with a lovely alternative dissection of a parallelogram

Printable worksheets and answers included.

Please review it if you buy as any feedback is appreciated!