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New
Year 5

Solve problems involving counting and drawing the areas of different shapes

I can use understanding of area and counting strategies to solve problems involving area.

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Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 5

Solve problems involving counting and drawing the areas of different shapes

I can use understanding of area and counting strategies to solve problems involving area.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The units of counting area must be the same if you want to compare the areas of different shapes.
  2. The units of area should be squares.
  3. Square units can be counted even if they cannot always be seen.

Common misconception

Inaccuracy when drawing can mean pupils fail to correctly answer questions relating to drawing area.

Access to tools such as visualisers allows the teacher to model drawing lines with great accuracy, using the gridlines to guide.

Keywords

  • Area - The measurement of a flat surface. It measures 2D space.

  • Rectilinear - 2D polygons composed of one or more rectangles.

Many of the tasks in Cycle 2 ask pupils to create rectilinear shapes. Pupils will be naturally inclined to draw rectangles. To add an extra layer of challenge for certain pupils, ask them to try a rectilinear shape which is not a rectangle.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these shapes is rectilinear?
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a
b
c
Correct answer: d
Q2.
What is the area of the shaded triangle?
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Impossible to say because not all of the squares are complete.
1 square unit.
Correct answer: 2 square units.
3 square units.
Q3.
What is the area of the shape? square units.
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Correct Answer: 18, eighteen
Q4.
What is the area of this shape? square units.
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Correct Answer: 16, 16., Sixteen, sixteen, 16.0
Q5.
What is the area in this shape? square units.
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Correct Answer: 6, 6., six, Six
Q6.
Select all of the strategies that could be used to calculate the area of the shape.
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Correct answer: Add all of the full square units then combine the partial square units (6 + 2).
Add all of the squares with green in them (10)
Correct answer: Subtract the triangles' area (4) from the rectangle surrounding the shape (12)
Correct answer: Make a square from the white bits (4) and subtract from the 3 x 4 rectangle.
Work out half of the 3 x 4 rectangle.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A shape with half the area of this shape would have an area of square units.
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Correct Answer: 3, Three, three, 3., 3.0
Q2.
A shape with double the area of this shape would have an area of square units.
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Correct Answer: 16, sixteen, Sixteen, 16., 16.0
Q3.
Part of this rectangle is covered by spilled tea. What is the area of the whole shape in square units?
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Correct Answer: 12, 12.0, Twelve, twelve
Q4.
What is the area of the shaded shape?
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It is impossible to tell, because you cannot see the square units.
1 square unit.
3 square units.
Correct answer: 6 square units.
Q5.
The area of the triangle is how many square units?
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Impossible to tell.
1
Correct answer: 2
3
Q6.
The area of the triangle is how many square units?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 3, three, Three, 3., 3.0

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