One could easily argue that there is no more authentic math calculation than determining the area and perimeter. There are countless examples of 'real world' applications including:

• the necessity to calculate the perimeter of a room before deciding on the amount of carpet or crown molding you need to buy, or 
• calculating the perimeter of your yard to better estimate the amount of grass seed or fertilizer required.

One of my all time favorite examples involves a mini golf course design. I remember fondly spreading out pieces of carpet and wooden two-by-fours on the floor of my fifth-grade classroom. My students then completed a performance assessment in which they had to calculate the area and perimeters of a handful of given hole designs, so they could order the correct amount of material. Finally, they could create their own design and have a friend attempt the calculations. You can use Mini Golf Measurements activity in Wixie to do the same activity.

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From Unifix cubes in primary grades to algebra tiles in secondary, math manipulatives provide a tangible way to help students see and grasp the nature of numbers and procedures.

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Current math standards require students to decode and solve word problems, as well as explain their thinking during this process.

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First graders continue to develop their geometric understanding of two- and three-dimensional shapes by moving beyond the simple attribute identification and shape creation they learned in kindergarten to defining attributes and creating composite shapes. First graders also get their first assessed look at fractions via the part-whole relationship and are asked to partition triangles and rectangles into equal shares.

Editor's Note: This blog is part of a series of posts from former math specialist Scott Loomis on the real-world math templates he has created for Wixie and how you can use and modify them for your own awesome performance tasks. You can read the backstory on his experience and expertise below.

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The ability to decode and solve word problems is ubiquitous across all state's math standards K-5, but many students struggle to decode the numbers and relationships in these problems.

Visualizing word problems in Wixie by using the paint tools to draw models or by adding images from the media library can help students better identify key pieces of a problem and the relations between them. Students can use these same tools to design their own word problems, building a better understanding of the pieces and relationships in the sentences, as they work to create the structure themselves. 

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