Mathematics Lessons

Subject: Mathematics | Topic: Area & Perimeter 

Think back to a fun visit you’ve had to the zoo, or seeing zoo animals do funny things on videos. Now, picture everything that surrounds the zoo animal you are thinking about. A zoo isn’t a place for entertaining community members as they walk around and look at animal exhibits. It is also a home to those wild animals, and it needs careful planning and construction for the health and safety of the animals. Join us for a two-part lesson as students become zoo engineers, planning and developing a zoo from the planning and blueprint stages on Day 1 to building an animal exhibit on Day 2.  

Day 1: Students use the criteria of area and perimeter to design a zoo that will include the most animals possible while ensuring they have enough space in their exhibits. (Day 2 information can be found in the Engineering section.)

Request access to 'It's Getting Wild in this Zoo (Day 1)'.

Materials Needed:

• scissors

• glue

• crayons/colored pencils

• large construction paper

• Provided by CINSAM:

  • Zoo Exhibit Regulations sheet

  • Blueprint of the zoo for design

  • Zoo picture cut-outs to include in design

  • Exhibit Area and Perimeter Recording Track sheet

Standards Connection:

• Common Core Math Standards: 4.MD.A.3 Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real-world and mathematical problems.

• DCI: ETS1.B Developing Possible Solutions

• SEP: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

• CCC: Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World