Calculating Perimeter and Area Using Architectural Drawings

Students will use real world examples of mathematics to determine the measurements of historic Tennessee buildings.

Weblink address (URL):

Home Page- source

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives:

Students will calculate the perimeter of a building using appropriate units of measurement.
Students will calculate the area of a building using appropriate units of measurement.

Essential and guiding questions:

Who would need to know the perimeter of a building?
Why do you think realtors would need to know the area (square feet) of a house that they’re trying to sell?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Analyzing

Extension suggestions:

Find out more about the history and visitor information for this building by visiting the following Web sites:

Visit Kingsport: Netherland Inn
The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: Netherland Inn

Students can examine photographs of the inside and outside of Netherland Inn from the Web sites listed above can compare them to the historic photographs listed on the surveys for each building. Have the buildings changed at all? You could even take a field trip to one of these locations, so that students can compare the drawings to the pictures and the actual site!
The Netherland Inn currently operates as a historic inn. If your students owned this building, what would they use it for? What other businesses could operate in a building like the Netherland Inn?

Helpful Hints

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:

Class set of calculators
Class set of highlighters
“Calculating Area and Perimeter using Architectural Drawings: Perimeter” worksheet
Netherland Inn: First Floor Plan
“Calculating Area and Perimeter using Architectural Drawings: Area” worksheet
Netherland Inn: Second Floor Plan