Procedure:
1. Have two students (or adult and student) use a tape measure to measure a desk or table. One student holds the case while the other handles the tape. Write the measurements on the slate or whiteboard, such as 20 inches wide by 36 inches long.
2. Ask the students if you will have enough string to go around the desk if you cut it so it has the measurements on the whiteboard. Take a string and measure off the length and then the width (for example, 36” and then 20”).
3. Bring the string to the table or desk and show the students that the string only goes halfway around.
4. See if you can get the students to say that they need another string the same length. Then cut another of string and have them help you put the string all around the table. Tell them that there is a name for the “distance around” called perimeter.
5. Have students measure the perimeter of books or other rectangles in the room by wrapping a string around the object and then measuring and then measuring the string with rulers, yardstick, or tape measures.
6. Talk to the students about how to use perimeter in real life by explaining how to use perimeter in the word problem:

Mr. Gabriel has a little dog named Andy who keeps running away. Mr. Gabriel has decided to put a fence around part of his yard and make a play area for Andy. He is going to draw a picture of the fenced-in play area. He wants the play area to be 6 feet long and 5 feet wide. So he draws a rectangle that is 6 inches and 5 inches wide. (1 inch in the drawing stands for 1 foot in his yard.)

7. Draw a picture of a rectangle on the board and label the length 6 and the width 5. Ask a student to label the two unlabeled sides. Ask the students how they can figure the amount of fence Mr. Gabriel needs. They will probably add all four sides together. Some students may figure out that they can multiply the length by 2 and the width by 2 and add them. Any accurate way is fine. Eventually, you should come up with an answer of 22 (inches/feet). Tell them they have figured out the perimeter.
8. Tell the students that when they hear the word perimeter, they should think fence.
9. Have the students complete the Perimeter Worksheet from Appendix B.

INTRODUCING AREA

Objective: The student will be able to compare the perimeter and the area of a rectangle.

Materials:

• The picture of Andy’s play area from Appendix B
• A string about 24 inches long
• 30 cardboard or paper squares 1 inch square (green, if possible); model in Appendix B
• Perimeter and Area worksheet (Appendix B)

Procedure::
1. Tell the students a continuation of the story of Mr. Gabriel, above.
Mr. Gabriel now has a fence to keep his dog from running away. But when Andy stayed in his play area, he pulled up most of the grass that was planted there. Mr. Gabriel decided to have new sod (long rolls of dirt where grass is already growing) planted in the play area. How much grass sod should Mr. Gabriel buy? Is that the same amount as the perimeter?

2. Remind the students what they figured was the perimeter of the play area (22 inches standing for 22 feet).
3. Talk about the sod needed to cover the area. A string can’t measure the whole area. Use the paper squares to cover the rectangle. Have the students count the number of squares they use (30 square inches). Write the amount of square as the area on the whiteboard.
4. Hold up the string and contrast it to one of the squares. Tell the students that the string is long and measures in inches. However, the area is square, not long, so it must be measured in square inches.
5. Write on the slate or whiteboard:
Perimeter is around the outside of the rectangle (fence)
Area is all the inside of the rectangle (grass sod)
Perimeter is measured in inches or feet
Area is measured in SQUARE inches or SQUARE feet
To find perimeter you usually ADD
(Length + Length + Width + Width = Perimeter)
To find area you MULTIPLY
(Length x Width = Area (square))
6. Talk over the above principles with the students, but it is not important if they understand how to figure perimeter and area at this time.
7. Have the students do the perimeter and area worksheet from Appendix B. Work each problem together. For each problem, have the students use a marker or colored pencil to trace around the perimeter with one color (say, red) and color in the area with another color (say, blue). Then, if appropriate, have the students calculate the perimeters and areas of the rectangles. The major purpose here, however, is to acquaint them with the vocabulary of perimeter and area and give them a visual picture of what the difference is--not necessarily for them to memorize how to compute perimeter and area.

Generalization Activities: Possible suggestions for generalization activities:

• Measure heights of family members or class members.
• Measure photos or posters to see what size frame you need to buy or whether they will fit in a scrapbook.
• Help measure windows for curtains.
• Parents can their child measure furniture in her own bedroom before rearranging it. For example, will the bed fit by the window?
• If you are shopping for new furniture, let your child help you figure out how many square feet you for a new desk, computer, etc.
• If you are shopping for a rug or carpet, let your child help you measure the area that needs to be covered.
• Measure the waist and the inseam on a pair of jeans that fit well. Tell your child what her size is. When shopping for new jeans, bring a small tape measure and measure the waist and inseam of the jeans that you try on or look at the inseam lengths marked on jeans. If there are no jeans that are exactly the right length, point out jeans that are too long or too short and talk about how the jeans would need to be shortened if you bought them.
• Relate sports to measurement by having the student “walk off’ the distance between the yard lines at a football field or compare the distance necessary for a baseball player to hit an over-the-fence home run in various ball fields.
• When shopping, point out items that are measured in square feet or square inches (wrapping paper, plastic wrap, tape). Do you get more if you buy one brand vs. another?
• Measure and cut Contact paper or shelf paper for drawers or shelves.
• Measure and cut newspaper to go on the bottom of a hamster or bird cage.
• Before a haircut, help the student figure out how much shorter she wants her hair--a half an inch? Two inches?