Lesson Plan: Area: Nonstandard Units Mathematics • 3rd Grade
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to define the area of a shape and calculate the area of a rectilinear shape by counting unit squares.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- define area as the amount of space taken up by a two-dimensional shape or surface,
- count unit squares to find the area of a rectilinear shape in square units,
- identify rows and columns to assist in counting unit squares to determine the area,
- compare and order the areas of rectilinear shapes calculated in square units.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- recognizing and defining rectangles and squares,
- the language of comparing and ordering (greater than, less than, equal to, greatest, least),
- skip counting by twos, threes, fours, and fives,
- comparing and ordering whole numbers.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- standard units of area,
- areas of shapes other than rectangles,
- nonstandard units of area other than unit squares (e.g., triangles, rectangles).
