Students work independently on the Think About It problem. Students need to decompose the figure and find the area. After three minutes of work time, I ask students how this problem is different from those we worked on in the previous lesson. I then have students share out their strategies for finding the area of the compound figure.
One possible method has students decomposing the figure using a horizontal line. Another strategy involves cutting vertically to decompose the figure into two rectangles. It is important that students see that both methods result in the same area for the compound figure.
There are two guided examples in the Intro to New Material section of this lesson.
In this lesson, students need the following skills:
For example Number 2, I expect that I may need to give my students some context, as many may have never played mini-golf. They may also be unfamiliar with the term, felt.
In example number two, I plan to discuss two ways to decompose the figure:
I will compare these strategies in order to help my students appreciate that while either strategy works, cutting this figure vertically is more efficient.
Students work in pairs on the Partner Practice problem set. As students work, I circulate around the room and check in with each pair. I am looking for:
I am asking:
After 10 minutes of partner work time, students complete the Check for Understanding problem on their own. One misconception I look for on this problem is with students who incorrectly identify the horizontal base of this figure. If there are students who are struggling with this idea, I have them highlight each individual rectangle to make it easier for them to see each base and height.
Students work on the Independent Practice problem set. As I circulate, I am paying close attention to students' organization of their work. I want their figures to be neatly decomposed and labeled. I also expect that anyone can clearly follow the work that the students have completed to find the area of the composite figure.
Problem 4 involves lengths of sides that are decimals. This may be difficult for some students.
For Problem 5, students need to carefully read the problem to realize they need to double the area of the compound figure, in order to answer this question correctly.
After independent work time, I bring the class back together for discussion. I have students share with their partners how they solved any of the Independent Practice problems. Each student shares out. I then cold call on a student to share work with the class on the document camera. I ask the class to share feedback on the strategy and work shown.
Students complete the Exit Ticket independently to close the lesson.