Area of Triangles

Duration
1-2 hours
Lesson Type
Project Based Lesson

Essential Question

How does understanding the process of finding the area of a triangle contribute to our ability to solve real-world problems?

What geometric principles are involved in determining the area of different types of triangles?

Grade(s):

  • 6

Subject(s):

Other Instructional Materials or Notes:

Lesson Progression

Begin with warm up. For students who solve quickly, have them find the perimeters of other rugs provided.

Slide two is for student exploration. Ask questions to probe students into realization that area of triangles are half the area of rectangles/squares.

Students can work together for the remainder of the slides with your support. 

Teacher Notes

Differentiation: Give students an area of a triangle. Given two (or more) triangles, have them match the correct pairings. Have students verbally explain why the area of a triangle is HALF of base times height for a parallelogram.

Extension: Give students three areas and have them create triangles with dimensions that satisfy the area formula. Have students create a real-world scenario during which this information is useful.