﻿ Grade 3 Mathematics Module 7, Topic D, Overview | EngageNY

Grade 3 Mathematics Module 7, Topic D, Overview

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Topic D utilizes the line plot, familiar from Module 6, to help students draw conclusions about perimeter and area measurements (3.MD.4).  Early in the topic, students find different possible perimeters or areas for rectangles based on information given about the rectangles.  For example, using knowledge of factors from experience with multiplication, students determine the following:

  • Different perimeters of rectangles comprised of a given number of unit squares (3.MD.8).
    • For example, given a rectangle composed of 24 unit squares, students find four possible perimeters:  50, 28, 22, and 20 length units. 
  • Different areas of rectangles comprised of unit squares with a given perimeter.
    • For example, students use unit squares to build rectangles with a perimeter of 12 units and determine that they can do so using 5, 8, or 9 unit squares. 

(Rectangles are formed with unit squares, and as a result they have whole number side lengths.) 

Students then draw their rectangles on grid paper and reason about their findings, noticing, for example, that for rectangles of a given area, those with side lengths that are equal or almost equal (more square-like) have smaller perimeters than those whose side lengths are very different (a long and narrow shape).  They use line plots to show the number of rectangles they were able to construct for each set of given information.  The line plots are a tool that students use to help them reason and draw conclusions about their data. 

As they move through the lessons in this topic, students notice and compare differences in the strategies for finding area when given a perimeter and for finding perimeter given an area.  By the end of the topic they are able to conclude that there is no direct relationship between area and perimeter, meaning that if an area is given there is no way of knowing a shape’s corresponding perimeter. 

Downloadable Resources


Common Core Learning Standards

CCLS State Standard
3.MD.4 Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an...
3.MD.8 Solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons, including finding the...

Curriculum Map