This unit, Go Figure!, focuses on the geometric concepts of perimeter, area, surface area and volume. Students begin by working on the coordinate plane to find the perimeter and area of rectangles. The formula for the area of a rectangle is then built upon to create a formula for the area of parallelograms and triangles. The concept of area is then extended to surface area and nets of three-dimensional solids with rectangular and triangular bases. Students finish the unit by exploring volumes of right rectangular prisms with fractional side lengths by connecting back to area and fraction multiplication.
In this task, students assume the role of ambassador for a candy company that has just developed a new type of candy. The owner of the company asked several candy box makers to create packaging for the new candy. Students need to write an evaluation of each design based on given specifications to help the owner choose the best packaging company.
