Home Makeover Unit
Grade Level: 6
Content Area: Math
Author: Carrie Churchwell
Description/Abstract: Students will learn how to solve for area and perimeter of
squares, triangles, and circles. They will apply this knowledge in the practical setting of
building or redoing a home.
Key Concepts: Area, Perimeter
Essential Question: How can I use my knowledge of area and perimeter in real life
settings?
Biblical Perspective: Just as we want to keep our houses updated and nice, we as
spiritual houses for the Holy Spirit need to keep our bodies and minds maintained. Read 1
Corinthians 3:16, 17 and/or 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. Discuss ways to maintain our spiritual
houses for God’s glory. (Studying God’s word, prayer, going to church, doing outreach,
maintaining good physical health, etc.)
Standards Addressed: (SDA) 6.GEO.1, (Georgia) 6.G.1.2.3.4
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive- solve real-life problems for area and perimeter
Faith Integration- reflecting on the Master Designer’s plans for our lives and sin’s
distortions, appreciate the guidance given in the Bible as the blueprint for eternal life
building
Kinesthetic- design a model of a home with accurate dimensions and calculations of area
and perimeter
Affective- appreciate that area and perimeter measures on a blueprint must be accurately
calculated by the builder to ensure a house will turn out as planned.
Assessment of Outcomes: Observation, worksheets, model house, discussion, writing
Time Requirements for Unit: 2 Weeks
Week 1- teach/review formulas for area and perimeter, practice
Week 2- application/project (may be due later than this time period, but you can go on
teaching other material)
Learning Experiences:
Week 1
1. Use your textbook chapters on area and perimeter to teach and practice concepts.
2. Have students practice finding the area of composite figures as well (Page 4, “Area
of Compound Shapes”). I have my students work in stations, with one station being at
the computers. I assign the videos worksheet (Page 6, “Area and Circumference
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Videos”) for students to work on at the computers. It involves watching explanation
videos, taking notes and then creating their own examples.
3. Students may also practice IXL lessons on area and perimeter at this station.
Week 2
1. Look at several blueprints of houses (see links below for examples) and explain to
students how to read them. Round all inches to nearest foot for ease of calculations.
This would be a great time to have a builder/contractor from your community come in
and talk about their job if you have access to someone.
2. Discuss building terminology such as room abbreviations, trim, baseboard, etc.
Practice solving problems related to the house (Page 7, “Area Performance Task”).
After doing one together, assign the other as a possible performance task, quiz or
classwork assignment.
3. Discuss with students the spiritual connection. Ask them if they see any lessons about
life from what they have learned. As an introduction before beginning the final
project, have students consider God’s design for us (group discussion of biblical
values – link to Bible passages being studied currently in religion class or daily
worships etc.). Think of the effects of sin in distorting your thinking, habits, and
actions (think pair share). How are the Beatitudes (or other passages of wisdom about
living as a vibrant Christian) like calculations of area and perimeter?
4. Then have students design their own homes and calculate the measurements. (Page
10, “Area House Project”). They will create a model of this house using any
materials they would like.
5. Optional- you could have them choose the scale and use proportions to find the
smaller dimensions, or you could make it simple and use 1ft=1in or 1 ft=1cm. You
may also want to put constraints on the size of the house in order to limit the time
required, as well as prevent frustration. For example, limit the number of rooms to
five or six and allow only single-story structures. After the houses are completed, list
several questions to prompt metacognitive thinking. e.g. How closely does your
constructed model match the blueprint? What might have caused any discrepancies?
6. To culminate the unit, give the following writing assignment: Write a list of building
tips to yourself from God. Include at least 3 specific things that will help ensure your
thoughts and actions reflect God’s design for your joyful life today.
Video Links (see Week 1 above, and page 6 below):
Area of composite figures- tinyurl.com/areacomp
Area of a circle- tinyurl.com/areacirc
Circumference of a circle- tinyurl.com/circumferencecirc
Blueprint Links (see Week 2 above):
house-blueprints.net/images/mf/7613_house_mf_plan_blueprint.jpg
dfdhouseplans.com/articles/images/all-about-blueprints.jpg
house-blueprints.net/images/uf/31751_house_uf_blueprint_plan.jpg
Teaching Strategies & Instructional Management: My students are grouped by ability
level and rotate between three stations. One is teacher directed, one is on the computers,
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and the other is classwork. In the classwork station they have learning buddies that they
can ask if they need assistance.
Accommodations, Adaptations, & Extensions: By grouping my students by ability
level, I am able to give those groups that need it more direct guidance and let other
groups work more independently. Students that struggle will need extra guidance with the
“Area of Compound Shapes” worksheet. Help them understand how to break apart
shapes and when to add vs. subtract. Read through the questions on the “Area
Performance Task” worksheet with students that struggle to make sure they understand
the question, then guide them to figure out what formula they will need to solve it. Have
a deadline for the blueprint of their house and then a different deadline for the actual
model house. Have high achieving students use inches in their calculations, showing
them how to make fractions out of 12 for each. For an extension, have students measure
their own houses and make blueprints.
Required Materials: Internet access, copies of the attached documents, basic building
materials (popsicle sticks, cardboard, glue, etc…or students can bring supplies from
home). Guest speaker who works in contracting or building if possible.
Lesson Evaluation & Teacher Reflection: The “Area Performance Task” can be
difficult for students if they rush. They really need to understand the question before
solving for anything. It may be good to have them write the formula they will use beside
each problem and let you check it before they solve. I had to place extra emphasis on
memorizing the formulas, because they would often get problems wrong simply because
they used the wrong formula. I am including a formula quiz I gave along the way to
require that they know their formulas (Page 11, “Formula Quiz”).
Attachments:
Page 4 – Area of Compound Shapes
Page 6 – Area and Circumference Videos
Page 7 – Area Performance Task
Page 10 – Area and Perimeter House Project
Page 11 – Formula Quiz
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Area of Compound Shapes
For (a)-(d), give the area of the shaded part of the figure.
For (e)-(h), give the total area of each figure.
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
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Answer Key (Area of Compound Shapes)
(a) 12 cm2
(b) 24 cm2
(c) 26.97cm2
(d) 60 cm2
(e) 135 units2
(f) 111m2
(g) 48 cm2
(h) 52.5cm2
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Area and Circumference Videos
Watch any two of the following videos:
o Area of composite figures- tinyurl.com/areacomp
o Area of a circle- tinyurl.com/areacirc
o Circumference of a circle- tinyurl.com/circumferencecirc
Take notes on each video, and then create your own example problems. Create two
problems for each video. They must be different figures. Solve each of your problems,
showing each step along the way. Don’t forget your units! Include all the formulas that
you use at the top of your page. You must turn in this rubric with your final project.
Rubric
Video notes for 1st video
Video notes for 2nd video
2 example problems 1st video solved correctly
2 example problems 2nd video figures solved correctly
Formulas listed
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Area Performance Task
10’
Key: Each door and window width = 3’
Source: thehousedesigners.com/plan/5632
1. Jasmine wants to put baseboard around the wall in the master suite of her house. How
many feet of baseboard should she buy?
2. She wants to put new carpet in the smallest bedroom. How many square feet of carpet
does she need?
3. Her husband wants to put hardwood floors in the living room. The wall the fireplace
covers is 4’ x 4’. How many square feet of wood does he need to get?
4. They want to put tiles around the outside of the pool. How many feet of tiles do they
need to buy?
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7’
Key: Each door and window width = 3’
1. The Grimsons are putting down wood for their porch floor beside the garage. How
many square feet of wood would do they need?
2. They are also buying trim to put in the den. How many feet of trim is needed?
3. Hailey wants to install baseboard in the dining room. How many feet of baseboard do
they need?
4. Kirk wants to carpet the master bedroom. How much carpet do they need?
5. The bricks around the edge of the pool need to be replaced. How many bricks will
they need if each brick is 6” long? Round to the nearest whole numbers.
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Answer Key (Area Performance Task)
Page 7:
(1) 46 ft – Hint: there are four doorways, so subtract 12 ft from perimeter
(2) 110 ft2
(3) 230 ft2 – Hint: The fireplace makes a triangle of floor that can’t be covered; the
sides are each 4’, so 8 ft2 should be subtracted from the area of the room
(4) 31.4 or 32 ft
Page 8:
(1) 90 ft2
(2) 54 ft
(3) 37 ft – Hint: no baseboard is needed for doorway or open side of room
(4) 252 ft2
(5) 88 bricks – Hint: pool’s radius is given in feet, and brick length in inches
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Area and Perimeter House Project
You are going to design your own house! You can be as creative as you would like, but
each house must have at least four rooms and something circular, such as a pool. You
will draw out a blueprint and answer the following questions about your house. You must
show all work on the questions. Turn this form in with your blueprint and model house
on _______________.
Rubric for House
Blueprint of house
All necessary measurements on the blueprint
Model of house that matches blueprint layout
Accurate dimensions on the model house
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Questions: (5 points each)
1. If you wanted to put hardwood floors in four rooms in your house, how many
square feet of hardwood would you need? Label each room that you will put
hardwood in with your work.
2. If you wanted to put baseboard around those same rooms, how many feet of
baseboard would you need? Label each room with your work.
3. What is the circumference of your circular structure?
4. If you wanted to put flowers along the front of your house and each flower took
up 6 inches of space, how many flowers would you need to buy to cover the
whole front of your house? (Do not include any doorways)
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Name:________________________
Formula Quiz
Area of a Rectangle
Area of a Triangle
Area of a Parallelogram
Area of a Circle
Area of a Trapezoid
Circumference of a Circle
Name:________________________
Formula Quiz
Area of a Rectangle
Area of a Triangle
Area of a Parallelogram
Area of a Circle
Area of a Trapezoid
Circumference of a Circle
Name:________________________
Formula Quiz
Area of a Rectangle
Area of a Triangle
Area of a Parallelogram
Area of a Circle
Area of a Trapezoid
Circumference of a Circle
Name:________________________
Formula Quiz
Area of a Rectangle
Area of a Triangle
Area of a Parallelogram
Area of a Circle
Area of a Trapezoid
Circumference of a Circle
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