Math Study Guide!

Dear Parents,

A few of you have emailed me inquiring about the study guide for the math test. It is posted below. I will have other notes for you for the week, but I am posting the study guide right away so that you all have access to it. Enjoy!

Sincerely,


Rebecca Wycklendt

Study Guide on Area , Perimeter and Column Multiplication

1.       Column multiplication using two-digit numbers: Students should be able to accurately find answers to questions such as 1,234 x 13 and 548 x 49. Students should be able to perform such problems whether or not carrying is involved.

2.       Perimeter and Area: Students should be able to distinguish between perimeter and area. Perimeter is the border around a shape while area is the space inside the shape. (A good way to make this concrete is to say perimeter is like the fence around a playground while area is the space inside the fence where you get to play.

3.       Find Perimeter of Squares and Rectangles: To find perimeter of a shape means to find the length of the border around the shape. To find perimeter, add all the sides together. Students should be able to find perimeter of rectangles and squares without having the shape drawn for them. They should know that all sides of a square are equal and that opposite sides of rectangles are equal to each other. When given numbers for length and width of a rectangle or a number for the side of a square, they should be able to draw the correct shape, label its sides with the correct lengths, find the perimeter and answer in correct units. (For instance, find the perimeter of a square with a side of 5in. Students should be able to draw a square, label its sides 5in, find the perimeter of the square, and answer 20in.)

4.       Find the Area of Squares and Rectangles: To find the area of the shape means to find how much space is inside it. We measure area in square units (30in², for instance). To find area of rectangles, multiply length x width. Squares are just rectangles that happen to have all sides equal, so you still multiply length x width to find the area of a square, but length and width happen to be equal so you end up multiplying the side by itself. When given numbers for the length and width of a rectangle, students should be able draw and label the shape, multiply the length by the width, and give the area in square units. (For instance, find the area of a rectangle with a length of 45ft and a width of 5ft. Students should draw a rectangle, label length 45ft, label width 5ft, multiply 45ft x 5ft and answer 225ft².) Students should be able to do the same process to find area when given the side length of a square.

5.       Distinguishing between area and perimeter: Sometimes students know the processes to find area and perimeter but do not read the problem carefully and end up applying the wrong process. Other times, students read a problem that says to find area or perimeter and forget which process they should apply. For such students, drawing the shape is especially important. It is also helps students if they can remember, “Perimeter is the one where I add; area is the one where I multiply.”