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This Warm-up prompts students to carefully analyze and compare the area of different figures. In making comparisons, students have a reason to use language precisely (MP6) as they describe the area of different figures. It also enables the teacher to hear the terminologies students know and how they talk about characteristics of shapes that help them find different areas.
This is the first time students experience the Which Three Go Together routine in IM Grade 4. Students are familiar with this routine from a previous grade. However, they may benefit from a brief review of the steps involved.
For all Warm-up routines, consider establishing a small, discreet hand signal that students can display to indicate they have an answer they can support with reasoning. Signals might include a thumbs-up or a certain number of fingers that tells the number of responses they have. Using signals is a quick way to see if students have had enough time to think about the problem. It also keeps students from being distracted or rushed by hands being raised around the class.
Which 3 go together?
The purpose of this activity is for students to find the area of a rectangle by tiling and multiplying the side lengths. Students use inch tiles to build rectangles with a given side length and find the area of those rectangles. They work together to compare and explain the strategies used to find the area of rectangles and make connections between strategies. Students observe how the area of rectangles with a given width varies as the length changes and make predictions about what areas are possible with the given widths (MP7).
Build 5 different rectangles with each of the given widths. Record the area of each rectangle in the table.
| area of rectangle | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 tiles wide | |||||
| 3 tiles wide | |||||
| 4 tiles wide | |||||
Discuss with a partner what you notice about the areas in each row of the table.
Predict the area of another rectangle that has each width. Explain your reasoning.
The purpose of this activity is for students to explore the idea of multiples through an area context. Students learn that a multiple of a number is the result of multiplying any whole number by another whole number. As students build and find the area of rectangles given one side length, they see that every area is a multiple of each of the side lengths of a rectangle.
Elena builds rectangles with a width of 3 units and an area of 30 square units or less.
What is the area of each rectangle you built?
What do you notice about the areas?
Why is 28 square units not a possible area for a rectangle with a width of 3 units?
Elena decides that the area of the rectangle can be more than 30 square units. Find 2 other areas it could have. Explain or show your reasoning.
“Today we built rectangles and learned about multiples of a number. A multiple of a number is the result of multiplying that number by a whole number.”
“How would you decide whether 28 is a multiple of 4?” (I think about whether there is a number I can multiply 4 by to get 28.)
“What is a number that would not be a multiple of 4? How do you know?” (Twenty-five is not a multiple of 4 because I can't multiply 4 by any whole number to get 25.)
Math Community
Display Math Community poster.
“Today we built rectangles with a partner and explored area. What does it look and sound like to do math together as a mathematical community? What was I doing? What were you doing?” (We talked to each other and to the teacher. We had quiet time to think. We shared our ideas. We thought about the math ideas and words we knew. We listened to each other share ideas. You were writing down our answers. You were waiting until we gave the answers.)
Record responses in the “Doing Math” column of the poster.