Teaching of Perimeter and Area

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TEACHING OF PERIMETER AND AREA

 Ideas of perimeter and area are used widely in everyday life. For example, these ideas are
largely used by builders, architects, painters and farmers.
 Most children have some experiences of perimeter and area before they start school. They have
seen people making flower beds, fences or making paths around their homes.
 Learners can also describe things as long or short and small or big. These activities are related
to perimeter or area.
 The knowledge and skills of these concepts enable people to be more exact when carrying out
various activities. For instance, a contractor has to know the perimeter of land in order to
establish the cost of fencing it. Likewise, a farmer needs to know the area of a garden in order
to determine the amount of seed and fertilizer that are needed.
 Therefore, it is important for learners to develop a sound understanding of perimeter and area
which they can apply in daily life.
Perimeter
 Perimeter is the distance around a figure or an object.
 The word perimeter is derived from the Greek words per which means around and metro which
means measure.
 Perimeter of a figure is found by adding the lengths of all the outer edges that make up the
figure.
Length
 Length is the distance between any two points.
 The standard unit for measuring length is a metre (m).
 Perimeter of circular shapes is called circumference.
 Calculating circumference requires the use of pi (π) whose value is 22/7 or 3.14 rounded to
𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
two decimal places. Pi is the ratio of circumference to the diameter of a circle or .
𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
 This ratio is the same for every circle regardless of its size.
𝐶
 Perimeter of a semicircle is found by halving the circumference plus its diameter (i.e. P = [ ]+
2
D, where P is perimeter, C circumference and D diameter)
Area
 Area is the measurement of the amount of surface that is covered by a 2-dimensional figure.
 Finding the area of a given figure requires an understanding of basic unit of area such as one
square centimetre (1 cm2) which is the area of a 1 centimetre square.
 Once this is established, it becomes easier to find areas of different shapes just by counting the
number of unit squares (in this case, square centimetres (cm2) within the boundary of each
shape.
 Eventually, different formulae are derived which help to calculate areas of different shapes
such as rectangle, circle, kite and trapezium.
 The standard unit for measuring area is square metre (m2).
Importance of perimeter and area in everyday life
 Used in tailoring when taking measurements for clothes
 In construction of houses for example, the length of the infrastructure has to be measured
 In farming, area of land to be planted has to be known in order to determine amount of inputs
to be applied.
 In painting, the costing of labour is determined by the area painted
 Creation of boundaries between countries, states and town/ villages
Ways learners develop the concepts of perimeter and area
 When playing games like zawana
 As learners learn the concepts of 3-D and 2-D shapes
 As the learners get involved in agricultural activities like making of seed beds
 As learners classify, organise and draw objects and shapes

Analysis of the primary curriculum


Perimeter and area are introduced starting from standard six and four respectively.

An effective way to introduce these concepts is to engage learners in various hands-on activities
starting with non-standard units before bringing the idea of standard units. For example, learners
can describe the perimeter of a chalkboard in terms of other objects such as sticks.

They can also describe the area of a table or desk in terms of number of smaller objects that can
fit on it such as leaves or notebooks. In this way, learners can realise the limitations of using non-
standard units and appreciate the importance of standard units in measuring perimeter and area.
Class Concepts Skills

4
Area  Comparing flat surfaces
 Measuring flat surfaces
 Area  Measuring area using squares
 Square  Presenting area of a given shape in
5  Flat surfaces squares
 Finding area of given shapes by counting
number of squares
 Perimeter  Adding and subtracting length
 The formula for perimeters of  Multiplying and dividing length
rectangles and squares  Calculating the perimeter of a rectangle,
 Calculating the perimeter of a a square and a triangle
rectangle, a square and a triangle  Calculating area of rectangles
6  Area  Calculating area of squares
 The formula for finding areas of  Calculating area of triangles
rectangles  Deriving the formula for the area of a
 The formula for finding areas of rectangle, square and triangle
triangles
 The standard units for area
 Area of a //gram = base x height  Establishing formula for finding area of
 Area of a circle = 𝜋𝑟 2 a //gram and a circle
7  Area of a composite figure = sum  Finding area of a //gram
of areas of shapes that make up the  Finding area of a circle
figure
 Circumference of a circle  Solving practical problems involving
 Composite figure circumference of circles
 Perimeter of composite figures  Solving practical problems involving
 Area of composite figures perimeter of composite figures
 Area of borders and lawns  Calculating area of composite figures
8  Area of trapezium  Finding area of borders and lawns
 Developing the formula for area of a
trapezium
 Finding area of trapezium using the
formula
 Solving practical problems on area

Note: The concept of perimeter is closely related to the concept of length which is covered
starting from standard one. However perimeter and length as concepts are different.
Teaching measuring length in non-standard units
It is important to practice measuring things using non-standard units before bringing the idea of
standard units to learners.
Examples of non-standard units of length include sticks, foot, strides, cubit and arm span.

Non-standard units of length


Steps
 Collect different objects for measuring length such as strings, sticks, books, papers, pens, etc.
 Demonstrate how to measure length of chalkboard, desktop, lawns, etc using the objects
collected and also body parts like foot.
 Record the results in a table form like:
Object to be measured Object/ body part for measuring Length
 Cubit 9 Cubits
 Pencil …. Pencils
Chalkboard
 String …. Strings

 Stick …. Sticks

 Foot …. Feet
 Hand span …. Hand spans
Floor
 Strides …. Strings

 Sticks …. Sticks

Note:
 Different types of objects vary in terms of length, height, depth and shallowness.
 Words like long, wide, deep, shallow, tall or short are some of the terms which mean length
in everyday life.
Measuring length using standard units
A metre is a standard unit for measuring length.
When teaching standard units of length, introduce a metre first, then centimetre, millimetre and
kilometre.
Introducing a metre
 Revise measuring objects using non-standard units
 Let learners observe that results obtained are inconsistent (dependent on height of an
individual)
 Explain that there is need to come up with a standard unit which is a metre (introduce a metre)
 Show learners a metre ruler or metre stick
 Guide learners to estimate lengths of objects around
 Help learners check their estimates by measuring length with the metre ruler
Introducing a centimetre/ millimetre
 Provide learners with objects shorter than a metre
 Ask learners to measure length of these objects in metres. Learners will find it difficult to
measure in metres lengths of objects shorter than a metre
 Discuss with learners the need for smaller units (centimetres/ millimetres)
 Let learners measure lengths of the objects using a 30cm ruler
 Let learners practice measuring objects in both metres and centimetres
Introducing a kilometre
 Discuss problems of using metres or centimetres in measuring long distances and the need for
bigger units
 Go to a football ground which is 100m long
 Estimate the distance which is 10 times the length of the football ground
 Establish that 10 x 100m is 1Km so 1Km = 1000m
INTRODUCING FORMULA FOR PERIMETER OF A RECTANGLE

• Draw a rectangle as shown

• Identify the sides of the rectangle and label them


• Find the perimeter in terms of L and W as follows:
Perimeter = Length + Width + Length + Width
P=L+W+L+W
= 2L + 2W
= 2(L + W)
• Therefore, establish that 2(L + W) is the formula for finding perimeter of a rectangle.

INTRODUCING PI (π)

• Have a variety of circular objects such as tins, tyres, coins, plates rings and rim
• Measure the diameter and circumference of each circular object and record the findings in
a table as below

• Divide the C by the D of each circle


• Observe the relationship that is there between C and D in each case
• Establish that every time C divides D, a constant number close to 3.14 is found.
22
• Let learners know that the constant number is called Pi (π)( 7 )

Note: Pi is the number of times the diameter is contained in the circumference of the same
circular object
Introducing non-standard units of area
 Introduce area using non-standard units such as leaves, papers, books, plates and palms
 Cover a given area e.g a floor or table using leaves
 Describe the area in terms of the number of objects used. e.g the floor is ten leaves in size
 Cover the same area using different objects e.g books and describe the area
 Establish with learners that the non-standard units are not reliable because they are not
consistent and precise

INTRODUCING FORMULA FOR AREA OF A RECTANGLE


• Draw a rectangle 6cm long and 4cm wide
• Divide it into 1cm square units as shown in the figure

• Count the total number of square units in the rectangle i.e 24


• Count the number of units in the long side (length) and short side (width) respectively
(length = 6 units and width = 4 units)
• Describe the relationship between the total number of units in the rectangle and the total
number of units along the length and width
• Establish that the units along the length multiplied by units along the width gives the total
number of units i.e Area of rectangle = Length x Width
A=LxW

INTRODUCING FORMULA FOR AREA OF A PARALLELOGRAM


• Draw a parallelogram, cut the triangle and join it to the opposite side as indicated in the
following figure

 Observe the figure you have come up with


 Find the area of the new figure
 Find the area of the parallelogram
• Establish that the new figure formed is the rectangle and has the same area as the original
figure
• Help learners note that the height and base of the parallelogram have become width and
length of the new figure.
• Conclude by indicating that since area of a rectangle = length (base) x width (height),
then area of a parallelogram = base (length) x height (width).
• Write the formula in short as: Area of a parallelogram = base x height

INTRODUCING FORMULA FOR AREA OF A TRAPEZIUM


• Draw a trapezium and divide it at the middle with a straight line and cut it to have two
pieces as shown

• Join the pieces by rotating the top one clockwise as shown above so that it looks like the
one below

• Identify the new figure which has been formed as parallelogram


• Discuss the length of the new figure as (b + a) and height as ½h

• Find the area of the new figure as base x height. That is (b + a) x 2 or ½(b + a)h.

• Conclude by showing that the formula for the area of a trapezium is ½(sum of ‖ sides) x
height

INTRODUCING FORMULA FOR AREA OF A TRIANGLE


• Have a rectangle and cut it along the diagonal as shown in the figure

• Place the two triangles formed in such a way that they fit each other exactly
• Discuss the relationship between the two triangles i.e they are of the same size
• Establish that the area of each triangle is half the area of the rectangle
• Deduce the formula for finding area of a triangle as: Area of triangle = ½ area of a
rectangle = ½(length x width)
• Let learners note that after cutting the rectangle, the length become the base and the width
the height. Hence, area of a triangle = ½ (base x height)

INTRODUCING AREA OF A CIRCLE


• Discuss parts of a circle
• Draw a circle and divide it into several sectors as shown in the figure

• Shade the alternative sectors that is one sector shaded, the other one unshaded as shown
in the figure above
• Cut through each line and separate through the centre
• Arrange the sectors alternatively as shown below

• Identify the formed shape as parallelogram and discuss the base and height
• Establish that:
The base of the parallelogram is ½ the circumference of the circle = ½ of 2πr
= πr
The height is the radius which is = r
• Therefore area of //gram above = base x height
= πr x r
= 𝜋𝑟 2
• ∴ the area of the circle is equal to 𝜋𝑟 2
Misconceptions and errors
 Thinking that all shapes with the same area have the same perimeter

 Attempting to find area of a rectangle by adding length and width rather than multiplying them

 Applying the same formula to calculate areas of different shapes

 Calculating perimeter of a semicircle by dividing the circumference by 2.


 Thinking that length is a horizontal measure and not a vertical one
 Using one of the slanting sides of a triangle as its height when calculating area of the triangle

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