Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
The school is building a new playground in the corner beside the gym. The gym is in the way, so the playground has to be an L shape. The safety surface costs money by the square metre, and the fence costs money by the metre. The builder needs two numbers by Friday: how many square metres of surface to order, and how many metres of fence. Your team's job: chalk the L-shaped playground at full size, find both numbers, and check them two different ways.
Teams of three, with jobs that rotate halfway: Marker (draws the chalk lines), Measurer (holds the metre stick or tape), Recorder (writes every length and calculation).
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
7 printable pages
- Predict (5–10 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
- Worksheet: Label it
- Worksheet: Try it at home
On the student sheet
- My prediction
- The L-shaped playground
- What did we find?
- My playground design
- Exit ticket
- Label it
- Try it at home
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 for all 4 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Finds the area of a composite shape
- Finds a missing side and the perimeter
- Designs to criteria
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “How much turf for an L-shaped playground?” take?
50–60 min. Group size: teams of 3.
How much prep does it need?
10 minutes: choose a flat area of pavement at least 7 m by 6 m per team (or share one big L between teams, taking turns). Each team needs sidewalk chalk, a metre stick and, if you have one, a 10 m measuring tape. Print one Student sheet per student; the playground design part needs grid paper or the grid printed on the sheet.
What materials do I need?
Sidewalk chalk; metre stick or 10 m measuring tape; grid paper, 1 cm squares. Cost: about $5 for chalk if you don't have it.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
Common Core Math (US): 3.MD.C.7 (partly), 3.MD.D.8 and 4.MD.A.3.
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My prediction”, “The L-shaped playground”, “What did we find?”, “My playground design”, “Exit ticket”, “Label it” and “Try it at home”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 for all 4 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$199 a year.