Thirteen pages to cut and play. Page 1 is a guide to keep on the table: a triangle is half of a rectangle, the height always meets the base at a right angle (inside the triangle, outside it, or as a side), a worked example where the slanted side is a trap, and two triangles to try. Page 2 has the rules for three games. Pages 3 to 7 are 20 activity cards, four to a page: cards 1 to 10 have one star and whole-number bases and heights, cards 11 to 20 have two stars and bring in slanted sides, answers with a half, metres, a turned triangle, a height outside the triangle and a missing height. Pages 8 to 10 are 24 matching cards, 12 triangles and their 12 areas. Pages 11 and 12 are eight team challenge cards, and page 13 is the recording sheet and team scoreboard.
Teach the formula first, then use the cards for practice. Play Triangle Champions in teams of three to five: everyone works each card alone, the team agrees, a checker uses the key, and points go to right answers, never to the fastest team. Use the matching cards as a station, face up for most students and face down as a memory game for the quick ones. Print the activity cards once more for Scoot around the room, with the recording sheet.
Cut out a few activity cards and take turns with your child. Ask them to point to the height before they multiply, and to say why the area is in square centimetres.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
Colorful game cards for practicing the area of a triangle with A = (base × height) ÷ 2. Students find the area of 20 triangles, match triangles to their areas and take on team challenges that catch the classic mistakes.
Tell us what to make next, or build your own with a worksheet maker.
This worksheet is free to download, print, copy, and hand out in your classroom or at home. You do not need to create an account, and there are no watermarks on the PDF.
