Clarifications
Clarification 1: Instruction emphasizes the conceptual understanding that area is an attribute that can be measured for a two-dimensional figure. The measurement unit for area is the area of a unit square, which is a square with side length of 1 unit.Clarification 2: Two-dimensional figures cannot exceed 12 units by 12 units and responses include the appropriate units in word form (e.g., square centimeter or sq.cm.).
Related Courses
Related Access Points
Related Resources
Formative Assessments
Lesson Plans
Original Student Tutorials
STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity
The students will plan a vegetable garden, deciding which kinds of vegetables to plant, how many plants of each kind will fit, and where each plant will be planted in a fixed-area garden design. Then they will revise their design based on new garden dimensions and additional plant options. Students will explore the concept of area to plan their garden and they will practice solving 1 and 2-step real-world problems using the four operations to develop their ideas.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
Students will decide which type of protective surface should be put in under a new playground unit. They will consider many factors before ranking their decisions about the best surface.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In this model eliciting activity students use data about the temperature and water requirements of plants to figure out when the plants should be planted. They also use data such as space requirements and time until harvest to make judgments about which plants would best suit the needs of students planning a school garden in Florida.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
MFAS Formative Assessments
Students discuss the meaning of area and are asked about the kinds of figures for which area can be calculated.
Students are given a rectangle with one column and one row of unit squares (same size squares) drawn. Students are asked to complete and then find the total number of same size squares in the partition.
Students are given a rectangle with tick marks drawn horizontally on one side of the rectangle and vertically on the bottom of the rectangle. Students are asked to partition the rectangle into columns and rows and then determine how many unit squares (same-size squares) are in the rectangle.
Students are given a diagram showing a garden shaped like an irregular hexagon and are asked to find the area by counting the number of unit squares the figure contains.
Students are given a diagram showing a rectangular dog run and asked to find its area.
Students are given a rectangle with some columns and rows partially constructed. Students are asked to find how many same-size squares are in the rectangle.
Students are asked to evaluate another student's area calculation that involves overlapping tiles.
Students are given a rectangle with one unit square (same size square) drawn in the corner of the rectangle. Students are asked to draw the remaining unit squares and then find the total number of unit squares in the rectangle.
Students are asked to explain how the area of a rectangle can be calculated and their responses are examined for references to the unit square as the unit of measurement.
Students consider whether tiling a rectangle with different sized tiles is appropriate when calculating area.
Original Student Tutorials Mathematics - Grades K-5
Learn to identify one square unit that can be used to measure area in this brief interactive tutorial.
Discover how square units can be used to cover the interior of a rectangle and measure its area of a rectangle in this interactive tutorial.
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Learn to identify one square unit that can be used to measure area in this brief interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Discover how square units can be used to cover the interior of a rectangle and measure its area of a rectangle in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial