Mathematics ~ Manipulatives, Hands-On, Real-Life Application
"Geo-ville": Area and Perimeter Made Fun
After a formative assessment of my Grade 5's, I realized that many of my students were unable to differentiate between area and perimeter. In order to accommodate for the ESL students and for differing learning abilities, math lessons were taught at three different levels based on learning needs: Group 1= struggling, Group 2 = somewhat struggling, Group 3= good understanding. The underlying goal was for the students to develop an understanding between perimeter and area, and how to calculate perimeter and area.
The students pretended to be contractors, assigned the task of building various structures for a new town: "Geo-ville".
Each design had to be approved by the 'city inspector' (the teacher). After approval, students obtained a 'permit' to build their structure.
Since there were three sets of learning objectives, based on the students' needs, three separate 'official' contractor meetings were held outlining the criteria for each group.
On graph paper, students drew the perimeter of a city element. They calculated the area and perimeter of their creation. After passing 'city inspection' based on proper calculations, “Geo-ville” designs were assembled on a bulletin board outside the classroom.
The students pretended to be contractors, assigned the task of building various structures for a new town: "Geo-ville".
Each design had to be approved by the 'city inspector' (the teacher). After approval, students obtained a 'permit' to build their structure.
Since there were three sets of learning objectives, based on the students' needs, three separate 'official' contractor meetings were held outlining the criteria for each group.
On graph paper, students drew the perimeter of a city element. They calculated the area and perimeter of their creation. After passing 'city inspection' based on proper calculations, “Geo-ville” designs were assembled on a bulletin board outside the classroom.
Modifications
To accommodate my student with exceptionalites, I worked with the Student Educational Assistant to modify "Geo-ville". His task was to design a rectangle because we needed a brick wall. Area was calculated by counting the squares on a graph paper and by using 1 centimeter square cubes.
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