The purpose of this activity is for students to make sense of floor plans. In the Launch, students make sense of how different features of the floor plan, such as windows, doors, and furniture, are visually represented. Students analyze the plan and consider what is usable floor space and where it makes sense to put the furniture. Students may give both aesthetic and practical reasons for furniture placement. This short activity prepares students to make similar considerations in the next activity.

MLR5 Co-Craft Questions. Display the image of the floor plan, and invite students to write a list of possible mathematical questions they could ask about the situation. Invite students to compare their questions, “What do these questions have in common? How are they different?” Amplify questions related to comparison and areas of rectangles.
Advances: Reading, Writing

• Invite a few students to share what they like about the current design and what they would change and why.
• Consider asking:
  • “Why might it be a good idea to move the plants to another spot?” (When the door is opened, it might bump into the plants. The door can’t be opened all the way.)
  • “What else could we rearrange to make moving around the room easier?” (The piano could be moved against a wall to make it easier to walk across the room. I would move the bed to the left to make it easier to walk between the bed and the desk chair.)

The purpose of this activity is for students to apply their understanding of the area of a rectangle to design a floor plan for a room. Students use their experience from the previous activity and consider what space is usable as they arrange the furniture. When students consider assumptions about information not given in a situation and report on their conclusions and reasoning, they model with mathematics (MP4).

• Display the student posters around the room.
• “Now, half of the class is going to stand with their posters while the other half visits those posters. If you’re standing with your poster, explain how you solved the problem. As you visit other posters, ask any questions you have about the solution to the problem.”
• Ask half the groups to stand with their posters to share their ideas or answer questions as the other groups visit them.
• Ask the other half of the class to visit other groups’ posters.
• 5 minutes: small-group work time
• Remind students to switch places after 2 minutes, if they haven’t already, so they see a few posters.
• Switch group roles and repeat.