Standard 2: Solve problems involving the perimeter and area of rectangles.

General Information
Number: MA.4.GR.2
Title: Solve problems involving the perimeter and area of rectangles.
Type: Standard
Subject: Mathematics (B.E.S.T.)
Grade: 4
Strand: Geometric Reasoning

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Access Points

MA.4.GR.2.AP.1
Solve perimeter and area mathematical and real-world problems for rectangles with given whole-number side lengths.
MA.4.GR.2.AP.2
Explore the relationship between perimeter and area using rectangles with the same perimeter and different areas or with the same area and different perimeters.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Formative Assessments

What Is the Perimeter of the Lettuce Section?:

Students are asked to use known lengths, areas, and perimeters to determine the perimeter of one section of a rectangle.

Type: Formative Assessment

Using Area and Perimeter:

Students are asked to solve real world problems by applying the formulas for area and perimeter.

Type: Formative Assessment

Fencing a Garden:

Students are given the area and width of a rectangle in the context of a word problem and are asked to determine the perimeter.

Type: Formative Assessment

Applying Area and Perimeter:

Students are asked to find the dimensions of rectangles by applying the formulas for area and perimeter.

Type: Formative Assessment

Finding the Perimeter of a Polygon with Missing Sides:

Students are asked to find the perimeter of a hexagon in which the lengths of two sides are not given but can be found.

Type: Formative Assessment

What Is the Missing Length?:

Students are asked to find the length of a missing side on two polygons given the perimeter of each and the lengths of the other sides.

Type: Formative Assessment

Rectangles with the Same Perimeter:

Students are asked to find the whole number dimensions of every rectangle with a given perimeter and then find the area of each rectangle.

Type: Formative Assessment

Find All The Possible Rectangles:

Students are asked to find the whole number dimensions of every rectangle with a given area and then find the perimeter of each rectangle.

Type: Formative Assessment

Lesson Plans

Zoning with Area and Perimeter Part 3:

This is Part 3 of the Zoning with Area and Perimeter lesson. Students will be asked to increase the area of each zone they created in Parts 1 and 2. They will then determine the perimeter of each zone based on its new area measurements.

Type: Lesson Plan

Zoning with Area and Perimeter Part 2:

This is Part 2 of the Zoning with Area and Perimeter unit. Students will be asked to place and zone three schools to serve the students of the community. They will be provided the perimeters of each school and will need to maximize its area in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

Zoning with Area and Perimeter Part 1:

Students will hold a town hall meeting to zone a new community. They will assign a different area measurement to each zone and then determine the zone’s perimeter. Students will explore how rectangles with the same area can have different perimeters in this integrated lesson plan.    

Type: Lesson Plan

Volunteer Trash Cleanup:

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will help a volunteer coordinator choose cleanup projects that will have the greatest positive impact on the environment. Students will learn about how litter and pollution can affect wildlife as well as how cleanup efforts can help. They will discuss the importance of volunteering in the community and utilize math skills such as calculating area in deciding how to rank the different cleanup projects.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Tent Teaser MEA:

This MEA allows students to calculate the area of tents in order to determine if they will hold a given number of people. Students will determine which tent is best for the customer by analyzing each tent's specific features, calculating space for each family member, and using deductive reasoning and key details from the reading passages.

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 processes. 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 MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

New Puppy's Pen:

The purpose of this lesson is to help students find the missing side's length for rectangular area problems, when the total area and one side's length is given. The use of square tiles, then graph paper and equations are used throughout the lesson to help students progress from conceptual to procedural knowledge.

Type: Lesson Plan

Its All Around But Covered Up:

Students explore missing dimension challenges in real world area situations.

Type: Lesson Plan

Draw a blueprint of your dream house floor plan.:

This lesson will help your students learn about area and perimeter while imagining and drawing a blueprint of their dream house floor plan. They will have so much fun drawing and creating their blueprint they will forget that they are actually learning how to find area and perimeter. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Numbers Grow Here:

The students will use prior knowledge of the area formula to design a garden with a  area. Students will compare gardens and note that rectangles with the same area could have different dimensions.

Type: Lesson Plan

Best Graduation Venue:

This MEA asks fourth grade students to collaborate with their classmates to solve a problem. They have to use their previous knowledge of the area formula and apply it to a real world problem using a given data set. They will also be asked to reevaluate their solutions when additional data is added.

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 processes. 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 MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

The Dock at Lake Wonder MEA:

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will be asked to rank and choose from the potential docks the Lake Wonder Camp could purchase before next summer based on the data given. In the process, students will need to find area and perimeter as part of their criteria for ranking. The data provided is: dock dimensions, price per square foot for materials, warranty, and material quality. In the twist, students will be asked to calculate the cost of adding a safety bumper around each dock (after finding the perimeter) and calculate the total cost of each dock with the price of the safety bumper added. They must also stay within a $5,000 budget. Students must decide how to change their procedure with the new information.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

Playground Perimeter:

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students are asked to help rank possible locations for a new park. They will need to perform certain calculations as part of the process, such as finding the unknown factor in a perimeter and area formula and multiply 2-digit by 1- and 2-digit numbers to calculate total costs.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

Rock Elements, Inc. MEA:

In this MEA, students are being asked to rank which rocks would be best to use for a rock garden based on a given set of data. Only one group of rocks can be chosen to build Mr. Potter's rock garden.

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 processes. 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 MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Park Planning:

Students are asked to plan a playground for a new park within a given budget and area limit. They will analyze the best use of playground equipment using a data table of area requirements and cost. Students will convert units within a single measurement system, calculate the area of a rectangle, and perform addition/subtraction calculations involving money using decimal notation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Pioneer Places:

In this MEA, students decide which type of pioneer dwelling was the best to build if you were traveling west.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Perimeter - It's a Linear Measurement:

In this lesson, students will review finding perimeter of polygons and apply their knowledge of finding perimeter and area to compute unknown side lengths. Students draw rectangles with a specific perimeter and draw rectangles with a specific area but different perimeters.

Type: Lesson Plan

Same Perimeter, Different Area:

In this lesson, students are presented with a problem that requires them to create rectangles with the same perimeter but different areas.  Students also search for relationships among the perimeters and areas of different rectangles and find which characteristics produce a rectangle with the greatest area.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Furniture Movers!:

The main problem students will encounter in this MEA is determining the appropriate placement of required furniture in a classroom with a new school that is being constructed. The MEA provides students the opportunity to use their knowledge of Measurement and Geometry in order to work as an engineer in solving a realistic problem. The students will need to review and incorporate the usage of Mathematical formulas and sketching in order to help make their final determination to the client within the MEA. The students may need to reconsider their initial thinking once they encounter a problem with the specifications.

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 processes. 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 MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Cupcake Shop Creator:

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will become architects to determine the best layout for a new cupcake shop coming to town. Students will use area and perimeter to assist in presenting the best layout of the store. The factors that the students will need to consider are: kitchen space, front counter space, a bathroom, and a wall to display and sell merchandise.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

The Park:

The students are ranking the building of a new park according to the criteria that the town wants. They need to determine the total area of the space and how it is being used.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

Playground Protection:

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA students will decide which type of protective surface should be put in under a new playground unit. They will consider many factors before ranking their decisions about the best surface.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

No Spare Space:

In this lesson, the students are employees of a fencing company. They are working with a customer to try and get the best deal and design of a fence that will fit the customer's area needs. Students will have to use reasoning skills in order to fill in missing information. Students will also discuss whether or not their designs have met the needs of the customer.

Type: Lesson Plan

Walk This Way:

Students will be asked to rank the different floor tiles for the playrooms in activity centers throughout community parks. They will need to take certain factors into consideration when making their rankings. They will also need to calculate the costs of installing the floor tiles using the given measurement of the playroom and the floor tiles. The "twist" will be that the client now needs to include a storage room for some of the playroom's equipment. They will need to decide if to use the same floor tile or different from the playroom and the additional cost of the storage closet. After, they will add the total costs of the playroom and the storage closet. They will report their findings and reasons by writing letters to the client.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

Parks and Playgrounds:

The Park by the Bay is having its grand opening soon and your students are needed to help figure out what playground equipment to use. 4th grade students will look at a data set and make decisions as to how to rank the playground equipment. Also, students will practice their area and perimeter skills by calculating the area and perimeters for the different playground equipment.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

Bre and Brent the Builders:

The students will be able to use prior knowledge of the concept of area to relate area to multiplication and discover the formula: base x height. Students will practice by composing two-dimensional squares and rectangles and apply the area formula to build a birdhouse.

Type: Lesson Plan

Shoe Closet MEA:

In this open-ended problem, students will work in teams to determine a procedure for ranking shoe closet styles for a person’s dream closet. Students will need to calculate the perimeter and cost for the closet, make decisions based on a table of data, and write a letter to the client providing evidence for their decisions.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Wallpaper Woes Money Math: Lessons for Life:

Students hear a story about a middle-school student who wants to redecorate his bedroom. They measure the classroom wall dimensions, draw a scale model, and incorporate measurements for windows and doors to determine the area that could be covered by wallpaper. Students then hear more about the student's redecorating adventure and learn about expenses, budget constraints, and tradeoffs.

Type: Lesson Plan

Area and Perimeter of Rectangles Investigations:

Students will determine the validity of the statement, "All rectangles with the same area will have the same perimeter" through two investigations.

Type: Lesson Plan

House Building Architects:

In this lesson, students are tasked with drawing a house based on given directions. The directions include the area and perimeter of particular features of the house. This resource is recommended as a review of perimeter and area.

Type: Lesson Plan

Light It Up:

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve real-world, multi-step problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division. The students will be asked to assist a business/property owner in purchasing holiday lights for his property. They will need to read several ads and decide which product would be the best for the property. They will be provided with an office plan to calculate the perimeter of the building to then calculate how many holiday lights will need to be purchased and its total cost for each. They also need to take into consideration the owner's primary concerns. In the twist, the owner finds different holiday lights made from another material.

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

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorials

Dream House Dilemma, Part 2: Perimeter:

Learn to calculate the perimeter of rectangular and composite shapes to help April finish designing her dream home in this interactive tutorial. 

This is the second in a three-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in the series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Dream House Dilemma Part 3: Perimeter and a Missing Side:

Learn how to calculate perimeter and find a missing side measurement for a shape given the perimeter in this interactive tutorial. 

This is the third in a three-part series about designing a dream house.  Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Dream House Dilemma Part 1: Area:

Help April calculate area and missing measurements for items in her perfect dream home in this interactive tutorial.

This is the first in a three-part series.  Click below to open the other tutorials in this series

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Making Connections with the Area Model:

Unlock an effective teaching strategy for making connections in area models in this Teacher Perspectives video for educators.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Problem-Solving Task

Karl's Garden:

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication. Since addition is both commutative and associative, we can reorder or regroup addends any way we like. Students often believe the same is true for multiplication. 

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorials

Area and Perimeter Word Problem: Table Dimensions:

This Khan Academy tutorial video presents a step-by-step solution for finding the length and width of a table when given its area and perimeter.

Type: Tutorial

Comparing Areas of Plots of Land:

Find area of two rectangles to solve a word problem.

Type: Tutorial

Comparing areas and perimeters of rectangles:

In this tutorial video from Khan Academy, explore the relationship between area and perimeter. For example, if you know the area and the length, can you find the perimeter?

Type: Tutorial

Video/Audio/Animations

Volunteer Trash Cleanup Data Set 2 Video:

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Volunteer Trash Cleanup Reading Passage 2 Video:

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Volunteer Trash Cleanup Data Set 1 Video:

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Volunteer Trash Cleanup Reading Passage 1 Video:

This video can be played with Reading Passage 1 for the Volunteer Trash Cleanup MEA (199167).

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials

Dream House Dilemma, Part 2: Perimeter:

Learn to calculate the perimeter of rectangular and composite shapes to help April finish designing her dream home in this interactive tutorial. 

This is the second in a three-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in the series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Dream House Dilemma Part 3: Perimeter and a Missing Side:

Learn how to calculate perimeter and find a missing side measurement for a shape given the perimeter in this interactive tutorial. 

This is the third in a three-part series about designing a dream house.  Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Dream House Dilemma Part 1: Area:

Help April calculate area and missing measurements for items in her perfect dream home in this interactive tutorial.

This is the first in a three-part series.  Click below to open the other tutorials in this series

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Problem-Solving Task

Karl's Garden:

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication. Since addition is both commutative and associative, we can reorder or regroup addends any way we like. Students often believe the same is true for multiplication. 

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorials

Area and Perimeter Word Problem: Table Dimensions:

This Khan Academy tutorial video presents a step-by-step solution for finding the length and width of a table when given its area and perimeter.

Type: Tutorial

Comparing Areas of Plots of Land:

Find area of two rectangles to solve a word problem.

Type: Tutorial

Comparing areas and perimeters of rectangles:

In this tutorial video from Khan Academy, explore the relationship between area and perimeter. For example, if you know the area and the length, can you find the perimeter?

Type: Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Problem-Solving Task

Karl's Garden:

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication. Since addition is both commutative and associative, we can reorder or regroup addends any way we like. Students often believe the same is true for multiplication. 

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorial

Comparing areas and perimeters of rectangles:

In this tutorial video from Khan Academy, explore the relationship between area and perimeter. For example, if you know the area and the length, can you find the perimeter?

Type: Tutorial