Area

Lesson 3

Math

Unit 4

3rd Grade

Lesson 3 of 14

Objective


Find the area of a rectangle by counting unit squares on grids.

Common Core Standards


Core Standards

  • 3.MD.C.5 — Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement.
  • 3.MD.C.6 — Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm, square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).

Foundational Standards

  • 2.G.A.2

Criteria for Success


  1. Relate a physical model of measuring area (namely, square tiles with no gaps or overlaps) to a pictorial one by laying square tiles on top of grid paper. 
  2. Find the area of various rectangles where their square units are shown pictorially. 
  3. Draw a rectangle with a given area on grid paper. 
  4. Describe the structure of a rectangle in terms of rows and columns.
  5. Find the area of various figures where their square units are shown pictorially, including rectilinear figures and figures with partial units (on Problem Set). 

Tips for Teachers


Lesson Materials

  • Square inch tiles (at least 12 per student or small group)
  • Square Inch Grid Template (1 or 2 per student) — Students will need at least 1 copy of this. The second copy is in case teachers don't have enough square inch tiles, in which case this second copy needs to be cut into individual units.
  • Template: Rectangle Sort (1 per student or small group) — This material should be cut into pieces before the lesson.
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Anchor Tasks

25-30 minutes


Problem 1

Build a rectangle whose area is 12 square units on top of grid paper. Then trace around the outside of your rectangle. What do you notice about the rectangle you traced on the grid paper? What do you wonder?

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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Problem 2

a.   Sort the cards (cut out from Template: Rectangle Sort) into categories of your choosing. Be prepared to explain your categories.

b.   Create a rectangle that would fit in each group.

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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References

Illustrative Mathematics Illustrative Math Grade 3 Unit 2 Lesson 3 Activity 2

Adapted from Illustrative Math Grade 3 Unit 2 Lesson 3 Activity 2, accessed on Sept. 21, 2022, 10:27 a.m., is licensed by Illustrative Mathematics under either the CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. For further information, contact Illustrative Mathematics.

Modified by Fishtank Learning, Inc.

Problem 3

a.   Can you and your partner draw the same rectangle without looking at each other's drawing?

  • Partner A: Draw a rectangle on one of the grids provided. Describe it to your partner without telling them the total number of squares.
  • Partner B: Draw the rectangle your partner describes to you.

b.   Place your two rectangles next to each other. Discuss: What is the same? What is different?

c.   Switch roles and repeat.

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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References

Illustrative Mathematics Illustrative Math Grade 3 Unit 2 Lesson 4

Illustrative Math Grade 3 Unit 2 Lesson 4 Activity 1, accessed on Sept. 23, 2022, 12:38 p.m., is licensed by Illustrative Mathematics under either the CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. For further information, contact Illustrative Mathematics.

Modified by Fishtank Learning, Inc.

Problem Set

15-20 minutes


Discussion of Problem Set

  • How are the rectangles in #2(b) and #2(c) the same? How are they different? 
  • How are the rectangles in #2(a) and #4(a) the same? How are they different? 
  • Which rectangle in #4 has the biggest area? How do you know? 
  • How did you find the areas of the shapes in #6? What made Part (b) particularly challenging?

Target Task

5-10 minutes


Problem 1

Which rectangle has an area of 24 square units?

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Student Response

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Problem 2

Myra tiled this figure with unit squares. 

What is the area of the figure?

Student Response

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Additional Practice


The Extra Practice Problems can be used as additional practice for homework, during an intervention block, etc. Daily Word Problems and Fluency Activities are aligned to the content of the unit but not necessarily to the lesson objective, therefore feel free to use them anytime during your school day.

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

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Next

Find the area of a rectangle with incomplete information about its rows and columns of square units.

Lesson 4
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Lesson Map

A7CB09C2-D12F-4F55-80DB-37298FF0A765

Topic A: Understanding Concepts of Area

Topic B: The Distributive Property and Composite Area

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