Math3-5
Dog Park Design: Area and Perimeter for Grade 4
By Kristen W.
A hands-on performance task in which 4th graders design a rectangular dog park, choosing dimensions for two zones that total 150 square units and calculating the fencing needed around the outside. It builds fluency with the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles, along with reasoning about how shape and size affect fencing and flooring choices.
Customize for your classroom
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the project as a city design challenge, then have students sketch their park on grid paper before calculating, so the abstract formulas connect to a visible shape.
- Discussion questions: Why might two rectangles with the same area need different amounts of fencing? How did you decide which length and width to use for Zone A's 90 square units?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: provide a worksheet listing factor pairs of 90 and 60 and a labeled rectangle template, and let students work with smaller whole-number dimensions first.
- Extension for advanced students: ask them to find every possible rectangle for each zone, compare total fencing across designs, and identify which layout uses the least fencing.
- Estimated time: plan roughly two 45-minute sessions, one for design and area calculations and one for perimeter calculations and a presentation of the final park.
Math3-5
Dog Park Design: Area and Perimeter for Grade 4
By Kristen W.
A hands-on performance task in which 4th graders design a rectangular dog park, choosing dimensions for two zones that total 150 square units and calculating the fencing needed around the outside. It builds fluency with the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles, along with reasoning about how shape and size affect fencing and flooring choices.
Customize for your classroom
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the project as a city design challenge, then have students sketch their park on grid paper before calculating, so the abstract formulas connect to a visible shape.
- Discussion questions: Why might two rectangles with the same area need different amounts of fencing? How did you decide which length and width to use for Zone A's 90 square units?
- Scaffold for struggling readers: provide a worksheet listing factor pairs of 90 and 60 and a labeled rectangle template, and let students work with smaller whole-number dimensions first.
- Extension for advanced students: ask them to find every possible rectangle for each zone, compare total fencing across designs, and identify which layout uses the least fencing.
- Estimated time: plan roughly two 45-minute sessions, one for design and area calculations and one for perimeter calculations and a presentation of the final park.