Discovering Area with Square Tiles
Grade 3 Mathematics Understanding Area Through Hands-On Exploration
What We'll Learn Today
I can explain what area means in my own words I can use square tiles to cover a rectangle without gaps or overlaps I can count square units to measure area I can explain why different rectangles can have the same area
Math Vocabulary We'll Use
Area: The amount of space inside a flat shape Square Unit: One square with sides that are 1 inch long Rectangle: A shape with 4 sides where opposite sides are equal Side Length: How long one side of a shape is Tile: A small square piece we use to cover shapes
The Mosaic Art Challenge
Our class is making rectangular mosaic art Each tile is 1 inch square Tiles must touch with no spaces No overlapping tiles allowed We need to make one rectangle using all our tiles
Let's Review Shapes
What do you remember about rectangles? What makes a square special? How are rectangles and squares similar? How are they different?
Partner Exploration Time
Work with your partner Use 24 square tiles Create ONE rectangle No gaps or overlaps Trace your rectangle on paper Cut out your rectangle shape
Guiding Questions During Exploration
{"left":"How are you arranging the tiles?\nAre there any spaces between tiles?\nHow many tiles long is your rectangle?","right":"How many tiles wide is your rectangle?\nCould you arrange them differently?\nDo you still use all 24 tiles?"}
Sharing Our Rectangle Creations
Each partnership shares their rectangle Explain how you arranged your tiles Count the total number of tiles Notice similarities and differences Different shapes, same number of tiles
Discovering Area
The number of square units that cover a shape is called its AREA
Understanding Area
Area = number of square units covering the shape Our rectangles have an area of 24 square inches Different rectangles can have the same area Rows × Columns = Total Area 6 rows × 4 columns = 24 square inches
Spotting the Mistakes
Look at this incorrect tile arrangement Why won't this work for measuring area? What's wrong with gaps between tiles? What's wrong with overlapping tiles? Create your own 'non-example' with your partner
Partner Talk: Back to Back
Stand back to back with your partner Question 1: What is area? Turn face to face and discuss for 1 minute Turn back to back again Question 2: Why can't tiles have gaps or overlaps? Face to face and share your thinking
3 more slides available after you open the deck.
Download all 15 slides