Maths · Counting and short-answer worksheet
Perimeter and Area Worksheet (Free KS2 Maths Printable)
This free printable introduces children to perimeter and area using a friendly gridded garden plot. Built for the Year 5 and Year 6 measurement curriculum, it asks children to count squares, add up the lengths of every side and multiply side lengths to find the area of rectangles.
The L-shaped plot is a composite rectilinear shape, so children practise splitting an awkward outline into simpler rectangles, a key step towards the harder reasoning expected in Years 5 and 6. Print it on a single A4 page and let your child colour the house and garden once the maths is done.
Perimeter and Area of the Garden
Free Maths worksheet · Ages 9 to 11
Activity 1
Look at the garden grid in the picture. Count the squares to answer each question. Write your answer in the box.
- How many unit squares long is the longest side of the garden along the bottom?
- How many whole grid squares are inside the whole L-shaped garden in total? This is its area in square units.
- How many sides does the outline of the L-shaped garden have altogether?
Activity 2
Use what you know about perimeter and area to answer these questions. Write on the lines. Use the word bank to help you fill any gaps.
To find the perimeter of the garden, do you add the side lengths or multiply them?
Split the L-shape into two rectangles. Find the area of each one by multiplying length by width, then add them. What is the total area?
Why is area measured in square units but perimeter is measured in units of length?
Perimeter and Area of the Gardenowee.worldAnswer key
- How many unit squares long is the longest side of the garden along the bottom? — Count the squares along the longest edge
- How many whole grid squares are inside the whole L-shaped garden in total? This is its area in square units. — Total of the squares in both rectangles
- How many sides does the outline of the L-shaped garden have altogether? — 6
- To find the perimeter of the garden, do you add the side lengths or multiply them? — Add the side lengths together.
- Split the L-shape into two rectangles. Find the area of each one by multiplying length by width, then add them. What is the total area? — The two rectangle areas added together (in square units).
- Why is area measured in square units but perimeter is measured in units of length? — Area measures the surface covered (squares), while perimeter measures the distance around the edge (length).
What this worksheet teaches
Children measure and calculate the perimeter (the total distance all the way around the edge) and the area (the amount of surface a shape covers) of a gridded garden. Each square on the grid represents one unit, so children can find the area by counting whole squares as well as by multiplying the length by the width of each rectangle. The garden is deliberately L-shaped, which means it is a composite rectilinear shape made from two rectangles joined together. This nudges children away from simply learning 'length times width' as a rule and towards thinking carefully about a real outline, exactly the kind of problem-solving the upper-key-stage-2 curriculum expects.
Perimeter and area explained simply
It helps to keep the two ideas firmly separate, because children often muddle them. Perimeter is a length, measured in units such as centimetres or metres, and is found by adding together the lengths of every side. Area is a measure of surface, recorded in square units such as square centimetres (cm²) or square metres (m²), and is found by counting unit squares or by multiplying side lengths. A useful image is fencing versus turf: the fence runs around the perimeter, while the turf covers the area. Encourage your child to say which unit they are using and why, as confident use of square units is an explicit Year 5 expectation.
How to use it at home or in class
Start by asking your child to trace one finger right around the outside of the garden to feel what perimeter means, then count the grid squares along each edge before adding them up. For area, suggest they draw a faint line to split the L-shape into two rectangles, work out the area of each rectangle by multiplying, then add the two answers together. As a check, they can simply count all the whole squares inside the plot. Comparing the two methods builds confidence and reveals any miscounts. The single illustration doubles as a colouring activity, a calm reward once the calculations are finished.
Moving towards Year 6 reasoning
Once children are secure with this sheet, stretch them with reasoning questions: 'If each square is 2 metres across, what is the real perimeter?' or 'Could a different garden have the same area but a larger perimeter?' These questions prepare children for Year 6, where they estimate the area of irregular shapes and recognise that shapes with the same area can have different perimeters. Linking the maths to a real garden, fence and lawn keeps the learning concrete and shows children why these measures matter beyond the classroom.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between perimeter and area?
Perimeter is the total distance all the way around the outside edge of a shape, measured in units of length such as centimetres or metres. Area is the amount of surface a shape covers, measured in square units such as cm² or m². On this worksheet children find the perimeter by adding the side lengths and the area by counting or multiplying.
Is this perimeter and area worksheet free to print?
Yes. The worksheet is completely free to download and print. It is designed to fit on a single A4 page, with one line-art illustration of a house and garden that children can colour in once they have finished the maths.
What age and year group is this worksheet for?
It is aimed at children aged 9 to 11, which is Years 5 and 6 in Key Stage 2. The composite L-shaped plot matches the Year 5 objective on the perimeter of composite rectilinear shapes, and the reasoning extensions reach into Year 6.
How do you find the area of an L-shaped garden?
Split the L-shape into two rectangles by drawing a straight line across it. Find the area of each rectangle by multiplying its length by its width, then add the two areas together. As a check, children can count all the whole unit squares inside the plot, which should give the same answer.
What units should children use for area?
Area is always recorded in square units. On a grid each square is one square unit; in real measurements children should write square centimetres (cm²) or square metres (m²). Using and explaining square units correctly is an explicit Year 5 expectation in the National Curriculum.
Curriculum links
- Year 5 Measurement: measure and calculate the perimeter of composite rectilinear shapes in centimetres and metres.
- Year 5 Measurement: calculate and compare the area of rectangles (including squares), and including using standard units, square centimetres (cm²) and square metres (m²) and estimate the area of irregular shapes.
- Year 6 Measurement: recognise that shapes with the same areas can have different perimeters and vice versa.
- Year 6 Measurement: calculate the area of parallelograms and triangles, building on the rectangle area work practised here.
Made by The Owee education team. Updated 02/06/2026. Free to print and share.
More learning, made playful
Owee turns topics like this into age-right quizzes for children aged 5 to 10, with a treehouse that grows as they learn. Three subjects are free, forever.
Get Owee free