These activities give practice in calculating the perimeter and area of rectangles and simple compound shapes that can be split into rectangles.

Recent research (Athena 2001) across the city has shown that perimeter and area are two of the topic areas where Yr 5 and 6 pupils could benefit from additional support in order to achieve Level 4 SATS results. The aim of this activity is as a booster session to help pupils succeed.

Additional materials and web-links are provided that support reinforcement as well as enabling opportunities for extension work and home learning. These can be accessed by clicking on the Download Worksheet button.

Learning outcomes:

Perimeter activity: to calculate the perimeter of simple compound shapes that can be split into rectangles.

Area activity: to calculate the area of simple compound shapes that can be split into rectangles.

Description of activities

Perimeter:
Definition of perimeter.
How to calculate the perimeter of a rectangle.
How to calculate the perimeter of a triangle.
Have A Go Level 1: five examples (variety of rectangles and other shapes) of finding the perimeter with all sides marked.
Have A Go Level 2: explanation and five examples (rectangles and squares only) of finding the perimeter with only 2 sides marked.
Have A Go Level 3: explanation and five examples of finding the perimeter of compound shapes (comprising rectangles and squares), not all sides marked.

Area:
Definition of area and example
Have A Go Level 1: five examples of finding area of rectangles with 2 sides marked.
Have A Go Level 2: explanation and five examples of finding area of compound shapes(rectangles and squares only) with all sides marked.
Have A Go Level 3: explanation and five examples of finding area of compound shapes (rectangles and squares only) with only some sides marked.

Pupil Notes
Need help in working out perimeters and areas? These activities show you how to calculate the perimeter and area of rectangles and any compound shapes that are made up of rectangles.