AT HOME ACTIVITY

Square Masterpiece

Provide your student with a pad of square sticky notes or about 30 same-size square pieces

of paper. Explain that each square represents an area of 1/8 square unit. (Do not use a specific

measurement such as inches or centimeters.) Invite your student to arrange the squares into

an artistic design that does not include gaps or overlaps. When the design is complete, ask

them to calculate the total area of the squares. One method to find the area is to count all

the squares and multiply by 1/8 . Another method is to repeatedly add 1/8 for the squares in each

section of the design and then add the totals for each section together. For an additional

challenge, ask your student to make a design that uses more than one color of squares and

find the area of each color.

Compare Squares

Gather a few items in your home that are square such as napkins, washcloths, drink coasters,

or crackers. Choose one of the squares to use as a unit square. The unit square can be larger or

smaller than the other objects. Use paper to trace and cut out a few squares of the item you

chose as the unit square. Then use those paper squares to estimate how many it will take to

cover one of the other square items you found. Check your estimate by tiling the unit squares

without gaps or overlaps. You will notice that the unit square does not fit perfectly in most

cases. When this occurs, encourage your student to mark one of the paper squares to show

what part of it is used to cover the item. Then find the fraction of the paper square that is used.

Repeat this activity by using both larger and smaller unit squares.