Lesson+10+-+Areas+of+Complex+Shapes

= Lesson #10 =

Title of lesson: Areas of Complex Shapes
Description of lesson: Students will use what they've learned so far about finding the areas of polygons and circles to find the areas of complex shapes. We've shown how complex shapes can be split up into other shapes, so the students will use what they've learned so far to find the areas of complex shapes and understand how this works.

Assignment: We will work as a large group, in small groups and individually to solve for the areas of various complex shapes. We'll begin the lesson with a warm-up problem where students will work individually to find the areas of several different shapes using what they learned in the previous lessons. After the students have been given 5 minutes to work individually, we will take 5 minutes to discuss the solutions as a class.

A complex shape will be displayed on the smartboard/promethean board and we will work as a group to split it into several basic shapes. We will work together to split the complex shape into its separate shapes. This should take approximately 5 minutes. Then we will discuss how to find the area of each separate shape and find the area of each shape. We will then discuss how adding these areas together will give us the area of the complex shape. This should take about 5 minutes. Another complex shape will then be displayed on the board and the students will be divided into groups of 3-4 and asked to split the shape into its separate shapes and find the area of the shape. 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 new complex shape, involving at least three different shapes, will be shown on the board. We will then discuss how to divide this shape and find the area for the last 10 minutes of class.

For homework, the students will be asked to watch a play list of videos about finding the areas of complex shapes and blog about their responses to the videos: what they understood, what they didn't understand, which video they felt was the most helpful, etc.

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 video play list will be posted on the class website:

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Technology reflection: The video play list for the lesson will reinforce learning. They will provide the formulas and definitions used in class so that students can use them for their homework. They 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.