Mr. S Teaches
Sign inRequest Tutoring
Menu
Sign inRequest Tutoring

Grade 3 · Mathematics · 25 minutes

Area with tiles

Cover a rectangle with unit squares without gaps or overlaps. Area counts unit squares covering a surface.

Mr. S Teaches · Starter mini-lesson · elem-3-area-with-tiles

Learning objective

Explain and practice area with tiles using the activity and evidence, then show the reasoning behind an answer.

Gather your materials

  • Paper and pencil
  • Counters, blocks or paper pieces
  • A ruler, clock model or grid when named in the steps

Use the items named in the teaching steps; paper models or adult-prepared photographs can replace physical equipment.

Common Core skill focus

3.MD.C.7

Connect rectangular area to multiplication and addition.

Read the official standard ↗

Code and grade verified 2026-11-03. This mini-lesson addresses a selected skill, not the entire standard.

Teach it step by step

  1. Cover a rectangle with unit squares without gaps or overlaps.
  2. Arrange 5 squares in each of 3 rows.
  3. Count 5 + 5 + 5.
  4. Connect the rows to 5 × 3 and name square units.

Watch, notice, discuss

Video choices for this lesson

2 choices

Preview a video, then choose what fits your learners. “Show to class” opens a larger view; use the player’s play and full-screen controls when you’re ready.

Teacher preview needed. Check the language, level and length before showing. YouTube may show ads or related videos.

After watching

Cover a rectangle with unit squares. How can multiplication count the squares?

An external player loads only after you choose Preview or Show to class. Playback connects to YouTube. Videos belong to their creators; availability and embedding can change.

Make the thinking visible

Example to work through together

The rectangle has area 15 square units: 3 rows × 5 squares per row.

Try the starter activity

Tile a rectangle 5 squares long and 3 squares wide.

Student practice

Draw a 4-by-3 rectangle on a grid. Explain its area with addition and multiplication.

Quick check for understanding

What is its area?

Sample answer and teacher guidance

Sample answer: 15 square units.

Listen or look for: 12 square units; 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 and 3 × 4 = 12.

Invite the learner to explain, demonstrate, draw or dictate their reasoning. Revisit a teaching step when the explanation is unclear.

Make it work for your learner

A little more support

Use tiles before moving to grid drawings.

An additional challenge

Split a 7-by-3 rectangle into 5-by-3 and 2-by-3 parts and add the areas.