Before You Read

Key Words

Read these words first. You will see them in the story.

area — the amount of flat space inside a shape. We measure it in square units (like square feet).

length & width — how long and how wide a rectangle is.

base & height — for a triangle, the bottom (base) and the straight-up distance (height).

composite figure — a shape made of two or more simple shapes joined together.

formula — a math rule. Rectangle area = length × width. Triangle area = ½ × base × height.

coverage — how much space one bag of soil can fill.

Part 1 — The First Bed

Mr. Lopez smiled at his class. "We have permission to build a school garden! But first, we must plan with math. We need to know the area of each bed so we buy the right amount of soil."

The first bed is a rectangle, 6 feet long and 4 feet wide.

Rectangle area = length × width = 6 × 4 = 24 square feet.

Check Your Reading — Q1

Why does the class need to find the area of each bed?

Solve It — #1

A second rectangle bed is 5 ft long and 3 ft wide. What is its area in square feet?

Area (square feet):

Part 2 — A Triangle Corner

In one corner, there was space for a triangle herb bed. "A triangle is half of a rectangle," Mr. Lopez explained. "So we multiply, then take half."

Triangle area = ½ × base × height = ½ × 8 × 3 = 12 square feet.

Check Your Reading — Q2

Mr. Lopez says a triangle is "half of a rectangle." What does the formula do to show this?

Solve It — #2

Another triangle bed has a base of 6 ft and a height of 4 ft. What is its area?

Area (square feet):

Part 3 — A Bigger Shape

The biggest bed was an L-shape. "Do not panic," said Mr. Lopez. "We break a composite figure into simple rectangles, find each area, then add them."

They split the L into two rectangles: one was 8 ft × 5 ft, and the other was 4 ft × 3 ft.

Big rectangle: 8 × 5 = 40. Small rectangle: 4 × 3 = 12. Total area = 40 + 12 = 52 square feet.

Check Your Reading — Q3

What is the smart strategy for finding the area of a composite (L-shaped) figure?

Solve It — #3

A composite bed splits into a 6 ft × 4 ft rectangle and a 2 ft × 3 ft rectangle. What is the total area?

Total area (square feet):

Part 4 — Buying the Soil

Finally, the class needed soil. Each bag covers 10 square feet. "If a bed is 30 square feet," asked Mr. Lopez, "how many bags do we need?" Maria raised her hand: "Thirty divided by ten is three bags!"

Bags = area ÷ coverage = 30 ÷ 10 = 3 bags.

Solve It — #4

A 24-square-foot bed needs soil. Each bag covers 6 square feet. How many bags are needed?

Number of bags:

After You Read — Write About It

Explain the Math in the Story

Pick your level. Use the sentence starters to write 2–4 sentences.

Level 1 — Beginner (finish each sentence):

To find the area of a rectangle, I multiply ______.
To find the area of a triangle, I ______.
For an L-shaped bed, the class first ______ and then ______.

Level 2 — Intermediate (use these to start):

Area helped the class because ______.
A composite figure is easier to measure when you ______, because ______.
I could use area in real life when I ______.

Write your answer here (included when you print or download):

How You Are Scored

Rubric

Category	4 — Strong	3 — Proficient	2 — Developing
Reading comprehension	All 3 reading questions correct with details	2 correct	1 correct
Math (Solve It)	All 4 area answers correct (rectangle, triangle, composite, coverage)	3 correct	2 correct
Writing	Explains area clearly using vocabulary (area, base, height, composite)	Uses some vocabulary; mostly clear	Begins with a starter