In previous lessons, students identified equal groups in the rows and the columns of arrays. In this lesson, students describe rectangles in terms of the rows and the columns. They find the areas of rectangles that have rows or columns of 2, 5, or 10 squares to encourage students to skip-count to find the total numbers of squares. Students should be encouraged to use the term “square units” in preparation for working with more specific units, such as square centimeters in future lessons. For example, if students find that a rectangle has 12 squares, they should say the area is “12 square units.” In the next section, students formally relate area to multiplication.

Reflect on your norms and routines. Are they promoting engagement from all of your students? Are there any adjustments you might make so that all students do math tomorrow?