Explore Perimeter: Design a Garden! 

If there’s one thing that students love, it’s having the opportunity to take control of their learning. They thrive when given the chance to make decisions, especially when tasks are set in a real-world context.

This inquiry-based perimeter project has been designed by our experienced team of teachers to provide your students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of perimeter in an authentic, real-world situation. Students are required to plan a garden for an entire grade level (three classes). The garden must include vegetables, flowers and fencing.

Throughout the investigation, the students will:

1. Brainstorm what plants will be planted.
2. Plan out each class’s portion of the garden.
3. Create a final plan for the entire garden.
4. Calculate the perimeters for each garden and the amount of fencing required.
5. Calculate the total cost for the amount of fencing required.
6. Compare the costings to another garden plan and work out which is cheaper.
7. Answer the reflection questions provided.

You’ll find everything you need to implement this design-a-garden math project in the comprehensive student workbook. The workbook contains the following:

• Instructions
• Project overview
• Various planning worksheets and templates
• Reflection questions
• A sample marking rubric

This perimeter project downloads as a print-and-go PDF or an editable Google Slides file. 

This student-centered maths project would make the perfect summative assessment task for any unit on calculating perimeter. Students will love taking control of their learning by personalizing their garden design choices in relation to their own unique preferences!

Multiple Benefits of This Perimeter Project

This design-a-garden math project and the concepts contained within have multiple benefits for students. Some of these include:

1. Integrated Learning – This perimeter project integrates various mathematical concepts and skills. Students need to use measurement skills for designing the garden layout, addition skills for determining the amount of fencing required and multiplication skills for finding the cost of the fencing.
2. Financial Literacy – Calculating the cost of the fencing introduces students to basic financial concepts. They learn and understand the financial implications of their design choices, promoting financial literacy.
3. Creativity and Design Thinking – The project encourages creativity as students have the opportunity to design their own gardens. It fosters design thinking by challenging them to consider aesthetics, functionality and practicality in their garden layouts and the location of fencing.  

Download This Design-a-Garden Math Project

Use the dropdown menu on the Download button above to access the PDF or editable Google Slides file. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it).

For sustainability purposes, please consider printing this workbook double-sided.

---

This resource was created by Brittany Kellogg, a teacher in Ohio and a Teach Starter collaborator.

---

More Teacher-Made Maths Investigations

Looking for more real-world maths investigations to excite your learners? Explore this great selection of teacher-created, curriculum-aligned resources!