Lesson 13
Find the Area of Figures
Lesson Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is for students to calculate the area of ungridded figures made of rectangles using multiplication and addition.
Lesson Narrative
Students continue to find the area of figures composed of rectangles by decomposing them into non-overlapping rectangles. In this lesson, the square tiling is slowly removed to focus students on multiplying side lengths to find area.
- Engagement
- MLR7
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Calculate the area of ungridded figures made of rectangles using multiplication and addition.
Student Facing
- Let’s find the area of figures.
Required Preparation
CCSS Standards
Addressing
Lesson Timeline
| Warm-up | 10 min |
| Activity 1 | 20 min |
| Activity 2 | 15 min |
| Lesson Synthesis | 10 min |
| Cool-down | 5 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
This lesson is designed to help students shift toward multiplying to find areas, rather than by counting unit squares. Did you see this shift in students' strategies? What questions could you ask students about their strategies to help them make that shift if they are still counting frequently?
Suggested Centers
- Five in a Row: Multiplication (3–5), Stage 2: Factors 1–9 (Addressing)
- Five in a Row: Addition and Subtraction (1–2), Stage 8: Add within 1,000 with Composing (Supporting)