Universal Design Lesson Plan (For Grade 6 - Perimeter)

UDL considerations within this lesson:

Attention Grabber:
- A clear explanation of what we are going to do during this lesson and
throughout the next unit is an important aspect of teaching. Students need to
know why they are learning about things like perimeter and what the goal
of this unit is.
Pre-Assessment:
- Here I am activating the students background knowledge. I ask them
questions about terms that they have likely already encountered and so they
try to recall what these words mean and when theyve used them or learned
about them.
- By using the think-pair-share teaching strategy, all students are engaged as
they have to think of something on their own first and then later they are
responsible for having thoughts/ideas to share with a classmate. Students
receive the option to draw or write on the sticky note to express their
knowledge. Some students may not be able to write a partial definition of a
term but they may be able to draw a rectangle, label the sides with a number
and add the numbers to find a perimeter.
- Also, by having students discuss certain ideas with various classmates
throughout a lesson/unit, we can foster collaboration and community
within the classroom. Assign partners or encourage students to pair up with
someone who they havent talked with yet, during a particular day, so that
students dont always stay close to their best friends.
Body of the lesson:
- Here I am continuing with scaffolding the lesson so that students are not
overwhelmed with all this new information but they are constantly gathering
little bits of new knowledge. Im using various methods of teaching and
incorporating technology (while still using paper) to teach students about
perimeter.
- I can use the whiteboard or the smartboard to draw various shapes and have
students come up to calculate the perimeter of the shape to actively engage
them.
- Throughout this lesson I provide options that sustain student effort and
persistence. They are being challenged just enough to keep going. I started
out with a simple review of perimeter and then they find the perimeter of
certain shapes but as soon as they seem to know how to do that I challenge
their thinking and ask them to find some sort of general formula for the
perimeter of a certain shape.
- I used the field activity in my grade 6 class in Barnwell (a very rural
community) and they really enjoyed it! Students knew what a field/garden
was and they had all sorts of interesting conversations about their farming
community while they were finding formulas and building fields/gardens. It
even came to the point where they showed pride in the fact that Taber Corn
is the best corn out there! Students were engaged because they could
relate math to the outside world to their world.
o If I did this activity in an urban school I might have written different
types of buildings or areas in the city (eg. Condos, park, apartments,

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single house, store etc) on the shapes. Find out what the students are
interested in and use it!
- Throughout this lesson I provide different levels of support for students
individually. Some students will be able to work more individually while
others need concepts to be explained in a simpler manner before they can
start an activity.
Conclusion:
- Review the big ideas and ask students to express their knowledge (through
writing or drawing) in an exit slip and use this information to plan for the next
class.
Teach
Ria Beekman
Introduction to the Unit Perimeter, Area er
Lesson 1
and Volume
Fall 2015
Date
45 min
Time
Unit/Stra
Shape and Space
Grade 6
nd

CURRICULUM OUTCOMES
GLO: Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems.
SLO: 3. Develop and apply a formula for determining the:
- Perimeter of polygons
- Area of rectangles
- Volume of right rectangular prisms. [C, CN, Ps, R, V]

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

1. Explain how the perimeter of any polygon can be calculated.

2. (Begin to) generalize a rule for determining the perimeter of certain polygons (focusing on
rectangles and squares for now).

ASSESSMENTS
Observations:
Key Questions:

Products/Performan
ces:

Observe students throughout the lesson.

Take note of which students understand the material being covered
and who needs a simpler version of the material.
What is perimeter?
Give me an example of why we would need to find the perimeter of a
certain area, such as the playground.
How can we calculate the perimeter of this polygon? What
rule/formula can we use to calculate the perimeter (informal
definition allowed during this lesson)?
Worksheet. Fields activity.

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Alberta Program of Studies Math 6
Alberta Education Website - Page 284-302:
http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/
mathematics/grade6/mathematics_Grade6_Curriculu
m_Guide.pdf

MATERIALS AND
EQUIPMENT
Smart board slides
Cardstock Fields printed on colorful
paper
Perimeter worksheet
Scissors etc
Sticky notes

PROCEDURE
Attention Grabber

Assessment of Prior
Knowledge
(Student should
have learned about
perimeter in grade
5 as well.)

Advance
Organizer/Agenda
Transition to Body

Learning Activity
#1

Assessments/
Differentiation:

Introduction
Lets be ready to start in 3-2-1!
Today well start a new unit in math!
- In this unit well look at rules that we can
use to calculate the perimeter of certain
polygons, the area of squares and
rectangles and the volume of rectangular
prisms.
- (Review words like perimeter, polygon,
and prism if deemed necessary.)
Think-Pair-Share:
- Think: Have students write or draw all that
they know about the perimeter of an object
on a sticky note.
- Pair: Once theyve completed that have
them pair up with an elbow buddy (or
specify different a way for them to get into
pairs) and have them share their answer
and discuss. (Teacher observes student
answers.)
- Share: Whole class sharing of knowledge.
Ask students questions and guide/challenge
their thinking. (Example: Why do we need
perimeter? Cant we just guess we build a
fence? Etc)

Time

5 min

Prepare smart board slides

Ask: How would we calculate the perimeter of the
room? (Use this question to introduce the notion
of creating formulas.)
Body
Smart board slides:
- What could we find the perimeter of? (Ask
students to come up to the smart board and
write down a few answers. Examples:
land/property, a room, a box, paper, etc.)
- Why would we need to know the perimeter
of these things? What is the use of knowing
the perimeter? Etc. Discuss with the class.
A: Observe which students know what perimeter is
and why we would need to find the perimeter of
certain items.
D: Provide students with visual/example on the
smart board if necessary to prompt their thinking.
Ask questions that are appropriate for each
individual students level. Challenge students
when possible to extend their thinking.

Time

3 min

4
Learning Activity
#2

Assessments/
Differentiation

Learning Activity
#3

Worksheet (Finding the perimeter of shapes

adding the length of the sides):
- Begin by doing an example on the smart
board for the whole class to see.
- Individual: Have students find the perimeter
of specific shapes on the worksheet (for
example the square, the rectangle and the
triangle because well want to find a formula
for these shapes). Students who have more
time will continue to find the perimeter of
the more complicated polygons.
- Have students write down how they found
the perimeter so that its easier to discuss
later (Eg. P=4cm+8cm+4cm+8cm=24cm)
- Students may compare answers with a
partner.
Discussion (Whole class):
- How did you find the perimeter of _____?
- What RULE could you write? How could you
make a rule that would only use addition?
What about multiplication? (Use visuals as
you explain and ask students to repeat what
their classmates have said to ensure that
they are paying attention and understand
the material. Eg. Instead of writing
4+4+4+4=16 you could write 4x4=16)
- *NOTE: This discussion is just to get
students thinking about how they can write
their perimeter formulas in different ways.
They havent seen a whole lot of formulas
yet so using letters in math may be a bit
difficult for some at first so do lots of
examples and use visuals!
A: The teacher will walk through the class and
observe how the students are doing, asking
specific questions to individual students to find out
what they understand. Worksheets may be
collected at the end of the lesson as a quick
formative assessment.
D: Ask specific questions to challenge students at
their individual levels. (Eg. From how did you find
the perimeter? to try to find the perimeter by
using multiplication as well as addition compare
the lengths of your sides, any similarities?)
Fields Activity (Example attached at the
end of the lesson):
- Each student receives a set of fields/garden
plots (includes rectangles, squares and a

15-20
min

15 min

triangle).
WHOLE CLASS: Do one example as a class!
Have students connect the carrot and potato
fields and then work out the perimeter as a
class. (The edges of the fields are marked
with letters (edges with the same length
contain the same letter). These letters should
help students to create a formula for the
perimeter of their garden.)
-

Explain that the letter a represents the length

of that side of the garden, a is larger than b
because the length of that side is larger, etc.
Tell students that they can only connect their
fields by placing two sides together with the
same letter (Ie, side a matches with side a but
side a cant be put against side b.)

INDIVIDUAL/ELBOW BUDDY: Students will be

asked to connect certain fields and create a
formula to find the perimeter around the fields.
Allow them to experiment with connecting their
fields and creating formulas while the teacher
walks around for 2 or 3 minutes asking
students questions about perimeter etc. Then
have the students:
-

Assessments/
Differentiation

CLOSURE:

create their favorite field by connecting the

fields with the veggies they like.
create a field that one of their family members
would enjoy.
create two different fields containing all the
veggies.
etc
*For each of these have students make a simple
drawing on a piece of paper, label the sides and
write the formula that theyve used.

A: Observe students throughout this part of the

lesson. Can students tell you a formula for the
rectangular field?
D: Students who find it difficult to create a formula
will need assistance. Start with a simpler shape
and build onto it. Also, it might be beneficial to use
colors as variables rather than letters.
Tell students that we will be continuing to learn
about perimeter and how to find a formula for the
perimeter of an object in the next math class.
Exit Slip:
- On the back of their worksheets students
will:
o write/draw how they would find the
perimeter of a rectangle.
o write about one thing that they want

2 min

6
to know more about (Maybe they
would like to know how to find the
perimeter of a circle etc.)
- Collect the worksheets before they leave.
Closure
Formative: Observations of students throughout
the lesson. Collecting the worksheets to check
how students did and to note common
misconceptions so that certain concepts can be
revisited at the start of next class. The exit slip
will tell the teacher what stuck the most with
students and what students are interested in
learning about.
Questions throughout the lesson.
Exit slip.

Assessment of
Learning:

Feedback From
Students:
Feedback To
Students
Transition To Next
Lesson

Time

Provide positive feedback throughout the lesson.

Collect worksheets. Enjoy your lunch!
Reflections

What went well?

What changes
would you make in
your planning?
What have you
learned to improve
upon future
instruction?

b
b

e
b
Peas
c

Carrot b
s

Potatoe
s

Carrot
s
b

Potatoe
s
a

c
b

Cabbage
a

b
c