Overview of Lesson: The students will go to the web site http://mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol1/challenge_vol1.html Here they will answer some challenging problems to test their true understanding of area and perimeter. The students will be asked to explain their reasoning once they get the correct answers.

Number Sense and Operations- 6.N.9, 6.N.13

Patterns, Relations, and Algebra- 6.P.2, 6.P.3

Measurement- 6.M.1, 6.M.4

Basic Operations and Concepts- 1.1, 1.3

Social, Ethical, and Human Issues- 2.5

Technology Problem-Solving and Decision Making Tools- 6.1

Student Outcomes: By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to problem solve using the information they have learned concerning area and perimeter. They must apply the concepts and formulas to solve the challenge problems on the "Math Goodies" web site.

Length of Lesson: 45 Minutes

Instructional Mode: Partner Activity

Multiple Intelligences: Logical-Mathematical, Interpersonal

Essential Questions:

How do you calculate width when you are given the length and area?

How do you calculate area of a square when you are given the perimeter?

How do you find the base of a triangle when you are given the area and height?

How do you calculate the perimeter of a regular polygon when you are given the number of sides as well as the length of one side?

How do you find the largest area possible when you are given the perimeter of a quadrilateral?

How do you calculate length of a side of a regular polygon, when you are given the perimeter and number of sides?

How do you calculate perimeter when you are given the area?

1. Worksheet- Questions typed from www.mathgoodies.com
2. Pencils
3. Computer Lab with Internet access

1. Students will open Internet Explorer and go to the web site www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol1/challenge_vol1.html
2. At the web site they will find a series of problems to solve. The students will also have a hard copy of these problems so that they can do all of their work out on paper.
3. The students will read each question and figure it out on a scrap piece of paper. When they believe that they have the correct answer, they will type the answer in the box and click once on the "Enter" box. The program will tell the student whether they have the correct answer or not.
4. The students can continue to work on the problem and check answers as many times as they would like. It is good to encourage the children not to guess and see how few times they have to plug in an answer to get the correct one. This will encourage them to figure out the problem before typing in an answer that is merely a guess.
5. Once they have the correct answer, they students will write the correct answer on their worksheet and the appropriate explanation. The explanation must be clear enough to prove that the student has a clear understanding of what the question was asking and the appropriate methods of solving the problem.
6. Once all of the questions have been answered and the appropriate explanations written, the students will pass in the worksheets to the teacher for assessment.

Assessment: The students will write their final, correct answers and explanations down on a sheet of paper and turn it into the teacher so that it can be graded and analyzed for their understanding.

Evidence that Student Learning Occurred: If the students are able to get the correct answer and explain all of the problems from the Math Goodies site, then they will demonstrate that they completely understand the concepts of area and perimeter that they have been learning about. Any wrong answers or mistakes will be analyzed to demonstrate where the students are lacking understanding with area and perimeter.

Technology Skills Required or Developed: The students must know how to navigate the Internet as well as to use applets to check their answers to the problems to confirm them.

Glosser, Gisele. (1998). Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies: Challenge Problems. Available: http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol1/challenge_vol1.html [2002, March 2].

Glosser, Gisele. (1998). Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies: Solutions. Available: http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol1/solutions_vol1.html [2002, March 2].