LESSON PLAN ON BUILDING BOXES

Name: Adil Benhayoun

Title of lesson: Building Boxes

Length of lesson: 1hr – 1.5 hrs

 Source of the lesson:

The source is the “Filling and Wrapping” book from Connected Mathematics series.

 TEKS addressed:

7.08 (B) Make a net (two dimensional model) of the surface area of a solid.

7.08 (C) Using geometric concepts and properties to solve problems in fields such as art and architecture.

I.       Overview

This lesson introduces the concept of surface area for the first time to students. This makes the lesson simple yet integral. It demonstrates how boxes can be made from different planes, allowing the students to visualize that surface area means.

II. Performance or learner outcomes

The students should be able to, by the end of the lesson, understand what the surface area of an object is and be able to calculate it for simple cuboids.

III. Resources, materials and supplies needed

Several pre-made shapes that can be folded to make a box, and some that cannot be made into boxes.

Glue to construct the boxes.

IV. Safety Considerations

None in particular.

V. Supplementary materials, handouts.

 Pre-cut shapes, each being different from the other, will be handed to each student. The shape can be folded into a unique rectangular prism.

Another set of handouts for each student with a unique three dimensional shape.

Five-E Organization

Teacher Does Student Does (hopefully)

Engage: A curious question of how many brick does it take to construct this school will be asked. This is challenging enough to not seem easy, and it is practical enough to where students can visualize the problem. How many bricks would be needed for this school? How many bricks for a room like this? Well, lets imagine that that this tiny box that I hold is this room and each of these little squares is a brick. How many of these squares are needed to wrap the whole box?

Students will guess different values for the total bricks for the school. They will suggest techniques to compute this. They will do the same for the number of bricks to cover the room. No actions are required here from the students.

Evaluate: The level of curiosity of the students will be this measure.

Explore: Each student will be handed a unique shape. Each shape has six sides, each of which is divided into small squares. How do you find the total number of squares without counting them? Draw a square on the board and labels its dimensions. How many squares would it take to fill this up if you know each side fits this many squares? Show a few more shapes, including triangles and if they are keen, a circle too, and ask for their areas (review area). Now find the total area of the shape that you have. How would you do that? Now, can you fold the shape you have into a box? (glue will be provided) Whose box will look like this one here??

Students will be curious about the shapes they have received, since each is unique. Students will recall what they know about area, so they will answer these prior-knowledge questions correctly. They will answer that multiplying length by width yields the area, or the total number of squares needed to fill up the shape. Students will yell out formulas for the areas of different shapes, passing the review of area. Students will resolve that adding the areas of each of the sides will yield the total area. Now the students will fold the shape into a box. They will each be curious as to whose shape will resemble the box that was presented earlier.

Evaluate: The students’ correct answer to the area review and them discovering that adding the areas yields the total area. If the students corrects guess the shape that will make the box presented (the model room), then that means that they have already visualized the concept of surface area.

Explain: Having found the box that is identical to the one presented (the model of the room), ask so, how many squares are around this box? This is called the Surface Area of the box. Area is the number of squares needed to cover a flat object. Surface Area is the number of squares needed to wrap-up a 3-D object. And how did you find this number?

The student with the matching box will be excited. He or she will present the surface area of the box, or the total area of all six sides. Each student will then look at their box and the surface area they calculated, visualizing the concept of the surface area.

Evaluate: The students’ level of attention will be this measure. This will indicate that task was informative, not boring and easy. 

Extend / Elaborate: Now, how would you find out the number of brinks needed to wrap-up this room, if I told you its L x W x H in size and the L*W*H of one brick? Hand each student the other worksheet. Now to find the number of bricks to build this school. Say our school is made up of these rooms. Have each student calculate the surface area of one room. Then the total surface area will be calculated by adding the rooms together. Some concluding reviews will be conducted: What’s the SA of this shape? How about this? And this? etc… Explain to students why insects cannot become huge because of surface are – an intriguing conclusion.

The students will answer the bricks question and rationalize their answer so that the other students may understand. The students will find the surface area of the unique room given to them. Then the students will add the surface areas of the room within their tables. Each student has to solve the task for the total surface are to be calculated, so no student can lag behind or not participate.

Evaluate: The correct answer to each of the rooms will be evaluation of each student. Then, the fact that students can sum the rooms to find the total will be an evaluation of the class’s success as a whole.