Lesson 1: Determine the Area of Parallelograms and Rhombuses6.GR.1

I can…

I can find the area of a parallelogram using base × height.

Key words

• Area of Parallelograms — Base times height. Measure the height straight up.
• Slanted side — A side that leans. It is not the straight-up height.
• Parallelogram — A shape with four sides. Opposite sides are parallel.
• Parallel — Lines that stay the same distance apart and never meet.
• Base — The side you pick to measure height from.
• Height — How tall it is, measured straight up from the base.
• Perpendicular — Lines that meet at a square corner (90°).
• Area — How much flat space a shape covers.
• Composite figure — A shape made of simple shapes joined together.
• Formula — A rule written with letters and numbers.
• Rhombus — A shape with four sides that are all the same length.
• Diagonal — A line between two corners that are not side by side.

Steps

1. I have a parallelogram with a base of 14 feet and a height of 9 feet.
2. I write the formula: A = base × height.
3. I put in the numbers: A = 14 × 9.
4. I multiply: 14 × 9 = 126.
5. So the area is 126 square feet. I used the height of 9, not the slanted side.

Try it

A garden bed shaped like a parallelogram has a base of 12 feet and a height of 7 feet. What is its area?

Check your answer

84 sq ft

A = b × h = 12 × 7 = 84 square feet.

Sentence starter

I know ___ because ___.

Goal: I can explain how I found the area using the words base, height, area, and formula.