Life Lessons Learned with Area and Perimeter

Looking for area and perimeter activities for kids?! Oh my goodness… There are SO many fun ways out there to teach area and perimeter! I always used to be so enthusiastic about teaching this math unit because I knew this was something I could incorporate real-world intentions and experiences into.

We all know there are just some math units that we have to cover, but if we’re being totally honest, we aren’t really sure why. I mean I thought I was doing myself a favor by taking Calculus, but I can’t say I’ve used any f(x) equations since I walked out after taking my final that day! 😉

Area and perimeter are just not that way, though!

I’m going to share with you a couple of resources that will help you introduce area and perimeter in a super fun and engaging way so you can spark your students’ interest from the very beginning of this unit.

I also have several projects that implement life lessons and skills that will make learning relevant and captivating for your kids – including a digital PBL resource! It’s so important that your students have a solid understanding of area and perimeter before going into major projects. How you present your lesson on day 1 can really set the tone for the rest of your unit. 🙂

Area and Perimeter Activities for Kids

Area and Perimeter Interactive Notebook

I love a good interactive notebook – especially when it’s differentiated! There are 3 different handout options for you to decide what level of support your students need as you work through this notebook.

I think my favorite part about using an interactive notebook to introduce a topic for the first time is just how much you can control the pace of the lesson. There are so many pages you can work through as a whole class and have a great discussion with, as well as pages that students can complete themselves as mini checkpoints along the way.

This notebook definitely covers it all – definitions, understanding units vs. square units, opportunities to find the area and perimeter of multiple given shapes, as well as numerous word problems that integrate real-life lessons! You can find it here! 

Click here to check it out!

Google Classroom Area and Perimeter

These Google Classroom Area and Perimeter activities totally complement the notebook! 🙂

Similar to the notebook, this resource covers definitions, a compare/contrast Venn diagram of the two, as well as plenty of opportunities to practice finding the area and/or perimeter of given shapes. 

The activities are a combination of drag-and-drop and short answer questions, and all come with an answer key.

You can easily complete these activities as a whole class together, but I love having the ability to let students move ahead if they’re grasping the concept quickly!

Working in small groups or with partners is also a great option, which always gives you more time to work with students who need you most. 🙂

You can get this resource here!

Google Classroom Party Planning PBL

After you get your students established with area and perimeter is when you can really start getting creative and show them how you use these skills to learn so many life lessons!

This project-based learning activity can be completed totally online. Your students will be expected to plan a party for a friend by using several different areas of math expertise, including area and perimeter!

The project is very outlined and will help guide your students through each step from beginning to end such as creating a guest list, constructing a budget for the party, figuring out the proper amount of seating and food required, determining how much tablecloth fabric is needed by finding the area of tables, as well as setting up the layout of the room by using perimeter. 

The project is then completed by each student giving a presentation about the party that they’ve planned.

You could easily have each student present their unique parties to the whole class, or you could assign “secret” partners for this project and have the students create a surprise party for someone without that recipient knowing. 

The students will love the surprise of not knowing who is planning a party for them, and it can really build a sense of community when your students are planning a party with a specific classmate in mind. They can consider more personal things such as what their favorite colors are, foods and drinks, or come up with a theme that they know they’ll love! 🙂

Not sure how to incorporate PBLs into your classroom block? Make sure to check out my post on how to fit them into your day here!

You can learn more about this project here!

Life Lessons Using Area and Perimeter

If you like the idea of doing more PBL activities for your area and perimeter unit, I totally support you! 😉

There are so many options for you to take and tweak as you see fit for your classroom.

If you feel comfortable, I even suggest giving your students the opportunity to choose their own project that incorporates area and perimeter.

I know having multiple different ongoing projects in your classroom does require more work for you, but it’s so worth it when your students are choosing something that interests them.

Here are a few ideas they could select from:

1. Planting a Garden – Use perimeter by outlining a garden. Use area by figuring out how much space each individual plant will need inside the garden.
2. Construction – Do you have students who are interested in building homes or businesses? Have them create their own place with simple materials. Or to make it simpler, how much carpet or tile would they need to replace the flooring of a room?
3. Painting – Painting a fence may not sound all that fun to a student. But painting their bedroom? Now that’s something they could get on board with! They can figure out how much paint they will need to cover the area of their bedroom walls.
4. Hanging Christmas Lights – How many lights would they need to cover the perimeter of their house and if they completely covered the inside area of the roof?
5. Sewing a Quilt – Quilt blocks are a great tool to use to discuss area, and perimeter can be used to decide how big or small they would like the quilt to be. Some students may have the capabilities to actually sew or already know how to sew, but you can always simplify this by making a paper quilt. Still just as pretty! 🙂

Take your time introducing area and perimeter in the beginning. You’ll be so glad you did when your students are pros and can take on real-life projects by using the skills they’ve learned from you!

What life lessons can you incorporate into your classroom by using area and perimeter? Would you use any of these area and perimeter activities for kids? Feel free to share below!

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