Estimating area

Estimating area

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This practical task is about finding the area of shapes.

Your teacher will give you 6 shapes and a grid. Use your grid to estimate the area of each shape by counting the squares.

Write your estimate of the area of each shape in the table below.

 

Shape

Estimate of Area

a)

Shape A

 

   

b)

Shape B

 

   

c)

Shape C

 

   

d)

Shape D

 

   

e)

Shape E

 

   

f)

Shape F

 

     
 
 
 
 

Template of Shapes

 

 
Grid Squares

 

Task administration: 
This task is completed with pencil, paper and scissors.
 
Equipment
A4 page with 2 sets of grid squares; template of shapes.
NOTE: check the printed size of the shapes to make sure they haven't resized.
  • Photocopy grid squares onto an overhead transparency and give one to each student.
  • Photocopy template of shapes onto light card and give a set to each student.
  • Students may wish to cut out their shapes.
  • Students are to place the transparency grid on top of, or underneath, each shape and estimate its area by counting how many squares each one covers.
  • Students may need to have the term "estimating" explained.
Level:
2
Curriculum info: 
Maths, Geometry and Measurement, Measurement
Keywords: 
estimation, area, 2-dimensional shapes
Description of task: 
In this practical task students use a grid squares overlay to estimate the area of six shapes by counting the number of squares each shape covers.
Curriculum Links: 
This resource can help to identify students' understanding of estimating and measuring area.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Geometric thinking, set 3
within the Mathematics Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 

 

  

3 marks (for all 6 correct)
or
2 marks (for 4-5 correct)
or
1 mark (for 3 correct)

 a) 3 1
b) 8 1
c) 8 1
d) 14 2
e) 18 3
f) 13 2

EXTENSION: To change this task and make it more difficult, you can enlarge or reduce the template of shapes on the photocopier. This will mean the answers and ranges will have to be re-calculated. A second method of making the task more difficult is to reduce the size of the grids.