[KerryCT3]

I just started teaching my third graders area and perimeter and I have noticed that some of them are struggling with the concept. Does anybody have any lessons or activities that have worked well for them?
Also, is there any children's literature out there that correlates with area and perimeter?

Thanks!

[camp823]

I always tell my kids that area is like the grass in the yard and the perimeter is the fence. You can also tell them that the Area (starts with A) means all, and the P in Perimeter looks like the outside of a shape. (works better with a more square letter p)
Also, Cheezits (sp) are close to one inch. You could have kids measure the area and perimeter with these. These could be hand drawn shapes or you could even do newspaper articles etc.
I went to Amazon.com and found a book that looks to be about area and perimeter. Read the reviews, I have never used it, but it looks cute!
Spaghetti and Meatballs for All, by Marilyn Burns
Hope this helps.

i teach 4th..I use the swimming pool analogy to introduce length and width and area.....draw a picture of it on the board, too....i also talk about how the perimeter is the distance around the classroom walls, and area is the carpet..i have them trace the perimeter of the desk with their hand and then show me the area of the desk with their hand....they often get mixed up between adding for perimeter and mulitplying though....

[eloise]

We have a rug for whole-meeting areas and I have asked my students from the beginning of the year to sit on the perimeter of the carpet (when we want to sit in a circle) or sit in the area of the carpet (for when they are in rows to look at me in the front). By the time we got to perimeter and area in math, they had a good understanding of it because they had physically demonstrated it so many times.

[room12]

I give my third grade students a piece of string a certain length (ie 24 inches) and a big piece of white paper. They get on the floor and arrange their string to create a picture. They can add other parts to the picture with their pencil, but the string has to be a part of the picture. For example, a student might create a fish shape from the string and then add the ocean and other fish etc. Then they write a sentence to go with the picture like "The fish has a perimeter of 24 inches." Then they color the pictures. They like doing this, and it helps them see the idea of perimeter as the distance around something.

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