Real Life Perimeter
Third Grade
Math, ESL
Get your students talking about how they can apply the concept of perimeter to real life. Use this lesson
independently or alongside Find the Perimeter: Real Life Objects.
Objectives
Objectives
Academic
Students will be able to find the perimeter of various shapes.
Language
Students will be able to find the perimeter of various shapes and create word problems about them using a
graphic organizer and key vocabulary.
Materials and preparation
Vocabulary
Class set of the Creating Problem Questions for
Perimeter worksheet
Teacher copy of the Teach Background
Knowledge Template
Teacher copy of the Write Student-Facing
Language Objectives Reference
Teacher set of Vocabulary Cards
Glossary (optional)
Class set of index cards
Document camera
TIER 2
distance: the amount of space between two things
length: a measurement of how long something is
TIER 3
addition: the process of finding the total of two or
more numbers
perimeter: the distance around the outside of a
shape
sum: the result of adding two or more numbers
together
Attachments
Teach Background Knowledge Template (PDF)
Write Student-Facing Language Objectives Reference (PDF)
Creating Problem Questions for Perimeter (PDF)
Vocabulary Cards: Real Life Perimeter (PDF)
Glossary: Real Life Perimeter (PDF)
Math language routine
Co-Craft Questions and Problems
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Introduction (2 minutes)
Assess students' prior knowledge about today's key concept by writing the word perimeter on the board
inside a circle. Have students share what they know about the concept, record their thoughts, creating a
web graphic organizer around the word perimeter.
Tell learners that today they will work with perimeter and focus on the process of finding the perimeter of
polygons. They'll also focus on what types of questions could be asked about perimeter. In this lesson,
they will make real-life connections to the math concept by playing the role of a teacher.
Go over the Language Objective and have students repeat it aloud.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (10 minutes)
Teach the key terms for the lesson that students will be using as they explain their processes. Use the
Vocabulary Cards to display each tiered word on the document camera. Go over the word, definition, and
the image on the card. Use this time to define any other words that came up in the lesson's Introduction
that your students may need to review.
Ask students to turn and talk to a partner about how the words are related. Provide a sentence stem for
them to use as they share their thoughts. For example, "These words are related because ____."
Explain to learners that the words are related because they all help us explain the process of finding the
perimeter of objects. Share that finding the perimeter is something that we do in our everyday lives in
many different situations. Give a real-life example of needing to find the perimeter. Say, "When we
moved into our new house, we had to get a new fence. We had to find the perimeter of our backyard so
that we could share that information with the fence company. To find the perimeter, I measured the
length of each side of the yard, and I added all of the lengths together. The sum was the perimeter."
Display a copy of the worksheet entitled Creating Problem Questions for Perimeter, but only point out the
three-columned graphic organizer. Explain that the mathematical representation is the shape, the
question is the word problem, and the answer is the work and the perimeter. Tell the class that you will
do this on the board, and then they will use the graphic organizer later.
Draw a rectangle on the board, and review the attributes of the shape as needed. (i.e., A rectangle has
four sides, two of which are longer than the other two.) Think aloud about a realistic situation and
measurements for the rectangle. Say, "This rectangle is a visual representation of a bedroom in my house
that got water damage during the storm. I need new floorboards around the whole room because the
water ruined them. The length of the long side of the room is 10 feet and the short side is 8 feet. If this
long side is 10 feet, then the other long side also has a length of 10 feet. If this short side is 8 feet, the
other short side is also 8 feet in length." Label the measurements on the rectangle.
Think aloud about a word problem that could accompany this mathematical representation. For example,
say, "The big storm caused damage in this room, so the bedroom needs new floorboards. How much
wood is needed to fix the border of the bedroom?" Write the word problem on the board to serve as a
reference for the students. Underline the question and put a box around the situation. Explain that good
word problems have a situation and a question that work together to make the entire problem make
sense.
Model finding the perimeter by adding 10 + 10 + 8 + 8 = 36 feet. Explain the process, using the
Vocabulary Cards as a reference to make sure you use each of the key terms. Share that the answer of
36 feet means that you need 36 feet of wood in order to fix the floorboards. Emphasize that the answer
always needs to be connected to the context of the problem.
Guided Practice (10 minutes)
Distribute a copy of the Creating Problem Questions for Perimeter worksheet to each student.
Engage the class in coming up with a word problem for the rectangle on the worksheet. Guide them in
conversation about realistic measurements and a realistic situation. Ask prompting questions to get
students brainstorming the situation and question:
What measurements make sense for this situation? (Measurements that make sense are ____.)
If you know the measurement for this side of the shape, how can that help you with the
measurement for the other sides? (This measurement helps me because ____.)
Do those measurements make sense for this object? (These measurements do/do not make sense
because ____.)
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What story can you tell about this shape? (I think I can tell a story about ____.)
How will you find the answer to your problem? (To find the answer ____.)
Guide students as they write a situation and question in the center column of the graphic organizer.
Then, have them answer the question on their own. Discuss as a class and remind students to use the
vocabulary words in their explanations.
Put students into partnerships and have them complete the second row on the Creating Problem
Questions for Perimeter worksheet. Circulate and pose questions to get students discussing and thinking
more deeply.
Call on partners to share their work with the rest of the class. Provide feedback and clarification as
necessary. Ask peers to share whether they agree or disagree with how the work was done and why.
Prompt them to think about if the context for the problem and answer makes sense.
Group work time (13 minutes)
Instruct students to complete the third and fourth rows on the worksheet. Point out that they have the
choice of which shape to use in their word problem, so they should draw it in the Mathematical
Representation column.
Circulate and support students as they work. Pose questions to get them explaining their thinking and
process, and invite struggling students to work in a small, teacher-led group if necessary.
Divide the class into small groups and instruct each individual to share one of their word problems with
the group. Have them show their shape, read aloud their question, and explain how they found their
answer and what the answer means.
Have one representative from each small group share with the whole class. Offer praise, feedback, and
clarification as needed while the students share.
Additional EL adaptations
BEGINNING
Allow access to reference materials in home language (L1).
Have learners repeat instructions and key vocabulary to the teacher.
Provide a set of Vocabulary Cards and a Glossary of key terms and phrases for students to use in group
and class discussions.
Group students intentionally based on academic and language needs.
Supply a list of real-life examples in which you can find the perimeter as well as a list of vocabulary to
accompany the situation.
ADVANCED
Allow learners to utilize glossaries and dictionaries for unfamiliar words.
Encourage students to answer questions and participate in discussions without referring to the sentence
stems or frames for support.
Choose advanced ELs to share their ideas first in group and class discussions.
Have learners repeat instructions and key vocabulary, summarizing important information for the class.
Put students in mixed ability groups so they can offer explanations and provide feedback to beginning
ELs when appropriate.
Assessment (3 minutes)
Give each student an index card and have them write a sentence, phrase, or accompanying visuals using
the vocabulary from the lesson. Display the Vocabulary Cards for students to reference during this
assignment.
Review and closing (2 minutes)
Instruct learners to turn and talk to a partner, sharing what they wrote on their index card. Allow them to
make changes at this time as they share with and listen to their partners.
Remind the class that finding the perimeter is something that we do in real-life, so it is important to know
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the process.
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Teach Background Knowledge
Lesson Topic:
Choose a topic from the main content
lesson that will help ELs understand the
main content lesson. Your non-ELs will
already have knowledge about this topic.
Total Lesson Time:
(20 - 30 minutes)
Student-Facing Language
Objective:
Example: I can learn new vocabulary
using pictures and sentence frames.
Student ELP Level(s):
Consider each student’s ELP level and
their academic strengths when choosing
scaffolds for the lesson.
Potential Scaffolds:
Choose some of these material supports
and instructional scaffolds based on each
EL’s individual strengths and needs.
Groupings (pairs, small-groups, a teacher-led group)
Word banks, word wall, and bilingual glossaries
Sentence frames, sentence stems, and paragraph frames
Home language materials
Reduced linguistic load, repetition, rephrasing and modeling
Practice new academic skills with familiar topics
Materials & Resources List
List the materials you’ll use in the lesson.
Key Vocabulary Words (5-8 words)
List the words with student-friendly
definitions in English. Provide
definitions in student’s home language
when appropriate.
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Introduction
Access EL’s prior knowledge about the
lesson topic with a brief comprehension
check.
Potential activities:
Creating captions for images
Opinionnaires
Carousel brainstorming
Conversations with sentence starters
Time estimate for Introduction
(3 - 5 minutes)
Explicit Instruction of
Background Knowledge
Model a learning activity that embeds
the teaching of academic language and
background knowledge.
Potential activities:
Lunch brunch discussion
Teacher-created, adjusted text and
questions
Brief videos or visuals
Text-based instruction
Home-language connections
Pre-teach a small number of
vocabulary words
Show real-world objects
Complete word family or bilingual
glossaries
Word walls or word bank creation
Time Estimate for Explicit Instruction
(4 - 6 minutes)
Guided Practice
Provide an opportunity for students (in
pairs or small groups) to practice the skill
or information taught during Explicit
Instruction, offering appropriate
scaffolds as needed.
Time Estimate for Guided Practice
(5 - 7 minutes)
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Formative Assessment
Ask students to show comprehension of
new background knowledge and
associated skills through an oral or
written task. Provide appropriate
scaffolds dependent on their ELP level.
Potential assessments:
Act out concepts
Hands on tasks
Drawings, models, or graphs
Graphic organizer completion
Captions of images
Reading response or content
area logs
Retellings
Role plays
Audio or video recordings
Oral interviews
Time estimate for Assessment
(5 - 7 minutes)
Review and Closing
Refer to the student objective and relate
information to future lessons. Allow
students to share thoughts about
whether they reached their objective
and/or mention lingering questions.
Provide sentence stems or frames for their
discussion.
Time estimate for Review and Closing
(3 - 5 minutes)
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Write Student-Facing Language Objectives
A teacher-facing language objective:
A student-facing language objective:
begins with “Students will be able to...”
is designed to raise students' self-awareness of and
promote their language development.
incorporates a language function, grammar structure, and
supports or scaffolds.
is intended to guide the teacher’s lesson planning
and instruction.
begins with “I can...”
is designed to raise students' self-awareness of and
promote their language development.
incorporates a language function, grammar structure, and
supports or scaffolds.
is easy to understand for students at all levels of
English proficiency.
Steps to convert a teacher-facing objective to a student-facing objective:
1.
2.
Replace “Students will be able to” with “I can.”
Simplify challenging words but maintain key vocabulary words you’ll address in the lesson.
Students will be able to describe a character with adjectives using graphic organizers.
Language
Function
Grammar
Structure
Support/
Scaffold
I can talk about a character with adjectives using graphic organizers.
Language
Function
Language Functions
locate
show
sort
tell
contrast
create
describe
ask questions
brainstorm
classify
identify
infer
interpret
collect
compare
Grammar
Structure
Support/
Scaffold
Supports/Scaffolds
Grammar Structures
nouns
modals
verb forms
conjunctions
sentence structure
pronouns
comparatives
adverbs
academic vocabulary
adjectives
phrases
prepositions
complex sentences
graphic organizers
teacher modeling
word banks/walls
sentence starters
strategic grouping
home language supports
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N a me
Da te
Creating Problem Questions for Perimeter
Directions: Look at the shape in the first column. Label the length and width of each shape. Then, write a problem question and find
the solution to the question you created. Be sure to show your work!
Mathematical Representation
Question
Answer
1.
2.
3. Draw your own!
4. Draw your own!
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addition
distance
the process of finding the
total of two or more numbers
the amount of space
between two things
length
perimeter
length
a measurement of
how long something is
the distance around
the outside of a shape
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sum
the result of adding two
or more numbers together
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Word
Definition
addition
the process of finding
the total of two
or more numbers
distance
the amount of space
between two things
length
a measurement of
how long something is
Visual
length
perimeter
the distance around
the outside of a shape
sum
the result of adding two
or more numbers together
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