A focused Grade 3 learning session for Area by Tiling using visual models, worked examples, strategy guidance, and a short mastery check.
Student goal: I can tile a rectangle and use the tiles to find its area.
Area by Tiling means measuring how much flat space a figure covers by using equal-sized square units.
Question: The rectangle is tiled with unit squares. How many unit squares are there?
Why it works: Count rows and columns: \(6 \times 4 = 24\) square units. Bridge from visual tiling to multiplication.
Answer: \(24\) square units
Question: How many unit squares are in this rectangle?
Answer: \(15\) square units
Question: How many unit squares fit in this tall rectangle?
Answer: \(24\) square units
Question: A rectangle has \(5\) rows of unit squares and \(2\) columns of unit squares. What is the area?
Why it works: \(5\) rows × \(2\) columns = \(5 \times 2 = 10\) square units. A is sum error.
Answer: \(10\) square units
Area by Tiling becomes easier when students connect the question to a model, use clear steps, and explain why the answer fits.
Area means every square unit inside the figure.
Use scratch paper. The explanation matters more than simply seeing whether the choice is correct.
Sam tiles a rectangle that is \(4\) tiles long and \(3\) tiles wide. How many tiles does he use in all?
Answer B: \(12\)
Multiply length × width: \(4 \times 3 = 12\) tiles. Shows tiling result matches multiplication.
The rectangle is tiled with unit squares. How many unit squares are there?
Answer C: \(24\)
Count rows and columns: \(6 \times 4 = 24\) square units. Bridge from visual tiling to multiplication.
A rectangle has \(5\) rows of unit squares and \(2\) columns of unit squares. What is the area?
Answer B: \(10\)
\(5\) rows × \(2\) columns = \(5 \times 2 = 10\) square units. A is sum error.
Count all the unit squares. What is the area?
Answer C: \(20\)
Visual grid: \(4\) wide × \(5\) tall = \(20\) square units.
Ben tiles a square using unit squares. He puts \(5\) tiles in each row and \(5\) tiles in each column. How many tiles does he use?
Answer B: \(25\)
Square: \(5 \times 5 = 25\) tiles. Equal row and column count.
How many unit squares are in this rectangle?
Answer B: \(15\)
\(5 \times 3 = 15\) square units.
How many unit squares fit in this tall rectangle?
Answer C: \(24\)
Tall rectangle: \(3 \times 8 = 24\) square units. D is concatenation error.
How many unit squares are in this rectangle?
Answer B: \(12\)
Wide rectangle: \(6 \times 2 = 12\) square units.
This square is tiled with unit squares. How many are there?
Answer C: \(25\)
Square tiling: \(5 \times 5 = 25\) square units.
The tall rectangle has unit squares. What is the area?
Answer D: \(21\)
\(3 \times 7 = 21\) square units. C is sum error.
Count the unit squares in this square. What is the area?
Answer D: \(16\)
Square: \(4 \times 4 = 16\) square units.
