In this activity pupils use dynamic geometry software to explore the area of shapes and derive formulae. The dynamic geometry resources are provided in two formats - Geometer’s Sketchpad and Geogebra
The resources cover objectives from Year 8:
- Derive and use formulae for the area of a triangle, parallelogram and trapezium
- Calculate areas of compound shapes
You can use these resources to encourage pupils to make predictions about how changes in the dimensions of 2-D shapes such as triangles and parallelograms will affect the area of those shapes and so help them to develop formulae for calculating the areas.
There are opportunities for:
- Using ICT in the mathematics classroom
- Whole class teaching
- Paired work
- Discussion and reflection
- Making and testing predictions
Download resources