12 STEM Challenge Cards For Area Of Triangles Practice
Need some Area of Triangles Practice? These fun STEM cards are a great way for children to practice finding the area of triangles as well as creating triangles with a given area.
We are on a conquest to conquer all things area.
Our math memory work has been focusing on memorizing the area of rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles. So today, it is time for a little STEM as we work on creating triangles with a given area!
Prep – Work
This activity requires very little prep.
- Print off the STEM cards on card stock.
- Cut out and laminate if desired.
- Provide kids with geo boards and rubber bands — you could use grid paper if that is all you have. It will take a little more time, but doable.
Learning Advantage 7728 Plastic Geo Boards, 5 x 5 Pin Array, 5
BAZIC 465 Multicolor Rubber Bands for School, Home, or Office (Assorted Dimensions 227g/0.5 lbs)
Area Of Triangles Practice
The concept is simple, but carrying it out will require that your kiddos understand the area of a triangle.
For the first set of cards, the children are given the area of a triangle, and they are asked to create a triangle that has that area.
Right Triangle:
In this example, the children know that the area should be 4. So there are two ways to find the answer.
The first way is to create a rectangle that has an area of 8, and then cut it in half. We can do this because we know from doing the interactive notebook, that a triangle has an area that is 1/2 a rectangle that has the same base and height.
Or kiddos could just play with the rubber bands until they have created a triangle that has four squares in it. The trick here is for them understand that when the rubber band cuts a square in half, that they need two of those to equal one square. Yes, we are building fraction sense too!!!
Other Triangles:
These triangles require a different kind of skill. With these, the students must understand that the height is not the side. The height MUST be a straight line from the base. The children will need to start with the answer and find factors for that number.
In this example, we want to create a triangle with the area of 6.
The first step is to multiply that answer by 2…if we don’t when we use the 1/2 part of the formula we will get 3 instead of 6.
Now we have 12, and the next step is to find the factors of 12. The children can create a triangle using 12 and 1, 2 and 6, or 3 and 4. As you can see, I created a triangle with a base of four and a height of three.
If your child needs help figuring out 1/2 of a number, this game might help.
Find the area of a triangle practice.
The last set of cards give children the base and height. They must build the triangle and then figure out the area.
In this example, the height is 2 and the base is 3.
Once it built, we can now plug in our numbers to the formula to figure out the area.
1/2 b x h
1/2 x 2 x 3
1/2 x 6
3
As my oldest worked on building and creating his triangles, I began to see an understanding develop! I hope you see the same!
You’ve Got This
Rachel
