Area is Everywhere!

The past few weeks we've spent our classes learning about area space and how to find it.  For me, its like problem solving and I love putting my brain to work!  First lets start with what area is:

Some common definitions for AREA are:

Area

The size of a surface.

The amount of space inside the boundary of a flat (2-dimensional) object such as a triangle or circle.

Next to the definition's above is a way of labeling which helps find area is an easy way.  This method can be used when on graph paper.  In addition, formulas have been created to help find areas of different shapes.  For example, the area of triangle is A=1/2bh.  

Now for some ways of learning area:

GEOBOARDS:

Geoboards are a great way to practice area!  Asking students to make as many different shapes as they can that are a particular area.  It's fun to see students being interactive and they enjoy trying to see if they're able to come up with all the possible shapes!  

GRIDLOCK:

Gridlock is a fun way for students to test their knowledge of geoboards and area knowledge.  It not only helps with learning area, but also problem solving!  The goal of Gridlock's are to split up the goeboards into four equal equal regions.  The image above was one I completed with quite difficulty.  It didn't occur to me until I had almost given up to think to split the squares in half!     

FLASHCARD WAR:

This game is just like the game "War" with real cards, however this time using flashcards made with shapes!  What you do is at the same time you and your opponent each flip over a card from the top of your stack.  You must figure out the area o your partner's shape while they figure out yours.  The person with the higher area wins that round, takes both cards and adds them to the bottom of their deck.  Once one person has conquered all the cards, they win!

MAKE THE FIRST LETTER OF YOUR NAME ON A GEOBOARD/GRAPH PAPER:

This can be super fun because it's something that relates to the students, it's personal.  If you allow them to maybe glue to a colored construction paper or decorate around it, student's will get to be crafty as well.  Once they've made their letters and discovered the area of it, they can trade and practice on other letters.  A fun thing to do after is tape/glue all the sheets of paper together and make one giant class quilt that then can be hung on the wall and known as "The Area Alphabet Quilt".  This lesson would not only include area, but also the alphabet and even patterns if students choose to extend their letter like the image above!

What's great about these activities is that they cover the following when it comes to AREA:

- Area on grid paper

- Area of triangles/squares/polygons

- Visually allows students to see large vs small area shapes/sizes

- Teaches formulas

- Makes for discussion and comparison between students

Hope you all enjoy these fun ways to learn about area!  They're all interactive ways which I find to make understanding and comprehending information so much easier while making it fun!