Math Games

Grade 6 - Measurement

Standard 6.MT.2 - Practice finding the area of triangles and trapezoids.

Included Skills:

Measurement Relationships
• select and justify the appropriate metric unit (i.e., millimetre, centimetre, decimetre, metre, decametre, kilometre) to measure length or distance in a given real-life situation (Sample problem: Select and justify the unit that should be used to measure the perimeter of the school.);
• solve problems requiring conversion from larger to smaller metric units (e.g., metres to centimetres, kilograms to grams, litres to millilitres) (Sample problem: How many grams are in one serving if 1.5 kg will serve six people?);
• construct a rectangle, a square, a triangle, and a parallelogram, using a variety of tools (e.g., concrete materials, geoboard, dynamic geometry software, grid paper), given the area and/or perimeter (Sample problem: Create two different triangles with an area of 12 square units, using a geoboard.);
• determine, through investigation using a variety of tools (e.g., pattern blocks, Power Polygons, dynamic geometry software, grid paper) and strategies (e.g., paper folding, cutting, and rearranging), the relationship between the area of a rectangle and the areas of parallelograms and triangles, by decomposing (e.g., cutting up a parallelogram into a rectangle and two congruent triangles) and composing (e.g., combining two congruent triangles to form a parallelogram) (Sample problem: Decompose a rectangle and rearrange the parts to compose a parallelogram with the same area. Decompose a parallelogram into two congruent triangles, and compare the area of one of the triangles with the area of the parallelogram.);
• develop the formulas for the area of a parallelogram (i.e., Area of parallelogram = base x height) and the area of a triangle [i.e., Area of triangle = (base x height) � 2], using the area relationships among rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles (Sample problem: Use dynamic geometry software to show that parallelograms with the same height and the same base all have the same area.);
• solve problems involving the estimation and calculation of the areas of triangles and the areas of parallelograms (Sample problem: Calculate the areas of parallelograms that share the same base and the same height, including the special case where the parallelogram is a rectangle.);
• determine, using concrete materials, the relationship between units used to measure area (i.e., square centimetre, square metre), and apply the relationship to solve problems that involve conversions from square metres to square centimetres (Sample problem: Describe the multiplicative relationship between the number of square centimetres and the number of square metres that represent an area. Use this relationship to determine how many square centimetres fit into half a square metre.);
• determine, through investigation using a variety of tools and strategies (e.g., decomposing rectangular prisms into triangular prisms; stacking congruent triangular layers of concrete materials to form a triangular prism), the relationship between the height, the area of the base, and the volume of a triangular prism, and generalize to develop the formula (i.e., Volume = area of base x height) (Sample problem: Create triangular prisms by splitting rectangular prisms in half. For each prism, record the area of the base, the height, and the volume on a chart. Identify relationships.);
• determine, through investigation using a variety of tools (e.g., nets, concrete materials, dynamic geometry software, Polydrons) and strategies, the surface area of rectangular and triangular prisms;
• solve problems involving the estimation and calculation of the surface area and volume of triangular and rectangular prisms (Sample problem: How many square centimetres of wrapping paper are required to wrap a box that is 10 cm long, 8 cm wide, and 12 cm high?).