Jane Tsap

This mini-project is a great way to have students apply knowledge of area and perimeter in a real-world example. Students are given a layout of a house with several rooms and a front yard. They are asked to find the area of the rooms, and the area and perimeter of the yard. Also provided is a "catalog" of different types of floors, fences and grass along with prices. The students must determine how much it will cost them to fence the yard, plant the grass and put new floors in their home. As a b

Students create a fun house that has 3 rooms and a yard. Their house is to have a perimeter of at least 120 feet. They calculate the amount of carpet for 2 of the rooms and the amount of fencing for the yard. Have the students draw the front of their "Fun House" and encourage them to pick a theme.

This activity is used in conjuncture with a 3-dimensional shape. After students construct a shape using nets (or given a shape by teacher), they use the guided activity to determine the 2-D shapes that make up their polygon. They then measure the sides and figure out the area of each individual polygon, and finally determine the surface area of the 3-D shape. Student can work in pairs or individually.