© Crown copyright 2023. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence (nationalarchives.gov.uk) v 3.0 1
Lesson plan
Area and perimeter of
rectilinear and compound
shapes
Level 2
1. Lesson objectives
• Explore the area and perimeter of squares, rectangles, triangles and compound
shapes
• Understand the concepts of area and perimeter and use them in a range of
problem-solving situations
2. Functional Skills Level 2 curriculum
Using common measures, shape and space
16 calculate perimeters and areas of 2-D shapes including triangles and circles
and composite shapes including non-rectangular shapes (formulae given except for
triangles and circles)
© Crown copyright 2023. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence (nationalarchives.gov.uk) v 3.0 2
3. Lesson plan
This is an overview of the lesson. More notes can be found in the notes in the lesson slides.
Activity
Purpose of this
activity
Time
(min)
Guidance
Introduction
To highlight how
changes in length
versus changes in
width affect the
area of a rectangle
5
Introduce the concept of area of rectangles. Ask learners to
work in pairs to consider two statements relating to how
changes to the dimensions of three fields affect the areas.
Gather responses from the learners.
Discuss 1
To explore area and
perimeter (including
factors and square
numbers)
10
Students work individually using dotty paper to draw various
squares, calculate their area and note down anything
noticeable/any patterns.
Teacher to get feedback from students and use various
squares to elicit/demonstrate important concepts relating to
squares, area and perimeter.
Misconceptions are addressed by students considering a set of
statements.
Key ideas slides to reinforce main learning points.
Pair activity 1
To solve problems
involving the area of
compound shapes
15
Ask learners to work in pairs to work out the area of two
compound shapes. Once learners have completed the task,
ask some pairs to share their methods.
A key ideas slide to reinforce main learning points.
© Crown copyright 2023. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence (nationalarchives.gov.uk) v 3.0 3
Activity
Purpose of this
activity
Time
(min)
Guidance
Discuss 2
To demonstrate
how the formula for
the area of a
triangle is derived
and to highlight
common
misconceptions
around area of
triangle problems
10
Teacher to use presentation visual to show a rectangle split into
two triangles and use the prompt questions to elicit the formula
for a triangle from students.
Students consider a set of answers to an area of a triangle
problem. Teacher uses discussion around the various answers
to highlight common misconceptions.
Teacher to reinforce key ideas.
Pair activity 2
To solve multi-step
problem-solving
questions involving
area of compound
shapes, capacity
and money
25
Students work in pairs to work out the area, and hence the
income for a series of different music festival enclosure options.
Discuss
To discuss tips and
strategies for
answering the
wordier FS
questions
5
Teacher to lead a discussion about FS exam questions and tips
for answering them. Includes information about reverse checks.
Practice
question
Learners check and
consolidate their
understanding by
answering exam
questions
15
Ask learners to answer exam questions and after a few minutes
discuss their thinking.
© Crown copyright 2023. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence (nationalarchives.gov.uk) v 3.0 4
Activity
Purpose of this
activity
Time
(min)
Guidance
Review
To review lesson
objectives and
recap key learning
points
5
Teacher to close the lesson by looking at the objectives and
recapping with the class the key learning points.