Lesson+1+-+Areas+of+Rectangles

= Lesson #1 =

Title of lesson: Areas of Rectangles
Description of lesson: Students will begin their unit on area by finding the areas of squares and rectangles. Rectangles form the basis for finding the area of all other shapes, so the students will use what they learn in this lesson to find the areas of parallelograms, triangles, circles, and other shapes.

Assignment: We will work as a large group, in small groups and individually to solve for the areas of various rectangles and squares. We'll begin the lesson with a warm-up problem where students will work individually to determine which of several shapes are rectangles and which are squares. After the students have been given 5 minutes to work individually, we will take 5 minutes to discuss the shapes as a class.

 A rectangle will be displayed on the smartboard/promethean board and we will discuss as a group how to solve for its area. We will begin by discussing how to find the perimeter of the rectangle and how it relates to its area. This should take approximately 10 minutes. Another rectangle will then be displayed on the board and the students will be divided into groups of 3-4 and asked to solve for the perimeter and area. They will be given 10 minutes to work on this. After the students have had time to work in their groups, we will spend about 5 minutes discussing the solution as a class. A square will then be displayed on the board and the students will be asked to individually solve for its area. This should take about 5 minutes. We will then use the remaining 5 minutes of class to discuss the shortcut of finding the area of a square (the length of one side squared) and how this is the basis of squaring numbers.

 For homework, the students will be assigned a short worksheet of practice problems and asked to listen to the podcast about finding the area of a rectangle.

Resources/materials needed: Students may use the textbook as an additional reference. We will be using the smartboard/promethean board during class and students will need to bring their notebooks, and a pencil. The podcast will be posted on the class website:

Area of Rectangles: media type="file" key="Area of Rectangles.mp3" width="240" height="20"

Technology reflection: The podcast for the lesson will reinforce learning. It will provide the formulas and definitions used in class so that students can use them for their homework. It will also provide parents with a source for information if they'd like to check or help with the students' homework.

Evaluation: I will need to focus on making sure all of the students' needs are met by the lesson and that no one is being left behind. I will need to make sure I keep on track in terms of timing so that we are able to cover the unit in the time allotted. I will also need to make sure I have a backup plan in place just in case there is a technical problem with any of the technology. For example, I'll need to make sure I have chalk or dry erase markers in case the smartboard/promethean board isn't working. I'll also need to make sure I have a few copies of the homework printed in case there are any problems with the class website or there are students who can't access the internet for some reason.