General Information
Test Item Specifications
Students will determine the area of a figure or a region on a plane by using countable units rather than multiplying dimensions.
Items may include estimating areas of irregular geometric shapes, such as a figure in the shape of a pond, a mitten, a foot, the sole of a shoe, or a solid letter D.
Items should include countable units that estimate to a whole unit or half unit.
Items may use only a one-to-one scale.
Shapes must be shown on a grid (or a gridlike graphic, such as geoboards or tiles); however, grid lines need not extend through the shape.
Items may be set in either a real-world or mathematical context.
Sample Test Items (1)
Test Item # | Question | Difficulty | Type |
Sample Item 1 | Carla drew a picture of the shape of a pond at the park. It has an area of about 28 square yards. Which of the following could be Carla’s picture of the pond? | N/A | MC: Multiple Choice |
Related Resources
Lesson Plans
Name | Description |
Celebrity Floor Plan Frenzy | Students will help an architect find the area of each room in a celebrity home and then determine the best location to build the home based on qualitative data about the locations. Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx |
Area Isn't Just for Squares | This lesson helps students make the connections between area and multiplication using square tiles. |