Do I have enough wrapping paper?

In this problem based activity students first guess and then try to calculate whether they will have enough paper to wrap this present without taping pieces of wrapping paper together.

Consider starting off the lesson showing the pictures of the box and of the wrapping paper. Ask kids if they think if one sheet will be enough to wrap the gift.  Ask them what information they need to be able to figure this out.  They might talk about setting up a scale based on the iPhone in the picture.  You can also provide students with the dimensions of the box (Show “Useful Info PDF”).  Students can then work towards determining if one sheet will completely wrap the box.  Take the opportunity to share student ideas and reasoning.

As an extension we ask students to consider what the smallest sized piece of paper is that can be used to wrap this box and if they can devise a way to know, in general, if the wrapping paper is going to be sufficient for a certain sized box.

For Adventurer members we have an editable Word docx, a teaching tips and solution pdf, and a PowerPoint form of the activity.