Area and perimeter worksheets
Aligned with Common Core 4.MD.A.3
Printable fourth-grade area and perimeter worksheets and how-to teaching pages: perimeter and area formulas for rectangles, finding both, finding a missing side, and area and perimeter word problems.
The worksheets
- See it all
How to Find Perimeter
Perimeter of an 8 cm by 5 cm rectangle by adding all four sides and with the formula, plus P = 4 × s for a square.
Perimeter of Rectangles
Rectangles and squares with labeled sides to find the perimeter. More uses sides up to 30.
- See it all
How to Find Area
Area of an 8 cm by 5 cm rectangle shown as 5 rows of 8 squares and with the formula, plus how to tell area from perimeter.
Area of Rectangles
Rectangles and squares with labeled sides to find the area. More uses sides up to 30.
Area and Perimeter
Rectangles to find both the perimeter and the area.
- See it all
How to Find a Missing Side
Worked examples finding a missing length from an area of 48 sq ft and from a perimeter of 30 m.
Find the Missing Side
Rectangles with one missing side to find from the area or perimeter. Fewer uses area only.
Area and Perimeter Word Problems
Stories about fences, carpet, frames, rugs, posters, parking lots and tiles.
Print the whole packet
One copy of every sheet above, in order. Tap + for more copies (up to 10).
For the parent or teacher
What it is
Perimeter is the distance around a shape, and area is the space inside it. Fourth graders use formulas for rectangles. Perimeter is P = 2 × l + 2 × w, or 4 × s for a square. Area is A = l × w, measured in square units. They also work backward to find a missing side, like a rug with an area of 48 square feet and a width of 6 feet, which is 8 feet long.
What comes next
Line plots with fractions.
How to teach it
- Walk around the edge of a rug or table to feel perimeter, then cover it with paper squares for area.
- Connect the area formula to arrays. 5 rows of 8 squares is 5 × 8.
- Write the formula first, then put in the numbers you know.
- For a missing side, think of a multiplication with a blank, like 6 × ? = 48.
- Check the units. Perimeter uses plain units and area uses square units.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up area and perimeter, especially in word problems.
- Adding only two sides for perimeter, like 8 + 5 = 13 instead of 26.
- Writing perimeter in square units or area in plain units.
- Dividing the perimeter by 4 to find the length of a rectangle that is not a square.