STEMEngine AI — Engineering Active Thinking
Community Lessons/3rd Grade Math
3rd Grade Math Lesson

Tile the Park: Discovering Area Through Blueprint Design

Shared by A STEM Educator

3rd GradeBTC Vertical Whiteboard Framing3.MD.C.6 / 3.MD.C.750 min
Learning Objective

Students will measure area by counting unit squares, connect tiling arrays to multiplication (), and find the area of composite rectilinear shapes by decomposing them into non-overlapping rectangles.

Lesson Overview

Students progress from counting unit squares on tiled rectangles to multiplying rows by columns, then decompose composite L-shaped playground sections to find total area using additive reasoning. All work happens at vertical non-permanent surfaces in random groups of 3.

Materials

  • Vertical whiteboards or chart paper taped to walls
  • Dry-erase markers (multiple colors per group)
  • Erasers or socks
  • Printed or projected static grid reference sheets (unit-square grids)
  • Random grouping cards
  • Consolidation note sheets (one per student)

Scaffolded Task Progression

1Task 1
The sandbox section of the park blueprint is shown below. Each small square = $1$ square unit. Count every square to find the area of the sandbox. ```coordgraph {"title":"Sandbox Blueprint","xLabel":"units","yLabel":"units","xRange":[0,4],"yRange":[0,3],"xStep":1,"yStep":1,"polylines":[{"points":[[0,0],[4,0],[4,3],[0,3],[0,0]],"color":"#e67e22"}],"points":[]} ``` How many square units cover the sandbox? Write your answer on the board.
2Task 2
The climbing wall section has this shape. Instead of counting one by one, try to find a faster way. Each square = $1$ square unit. ```coordgraph {"title":"Climbing Wall Blueprint","xLabel":"units","yLabel":"units","xRange":[0,6],"yRange":[0,4],"xStep":1,"yStep":1,"polylines":[{"points":[[0,0],[6,0],[6,4],[0,4],[0,0]],"color":"#27ae60"}],"points":[]} ``` How many square units? Can your group write a multiplication equation that matches?

Unlock the full lesson

See all 6 scaffolded tasks, the full answer key, warm-up, exit slip, and a print-ready version — free to start.

Create a free account

Already have an account? Sign in

Make it your own

Like this lesson but want to tweak it?

Make an editable copy and adjust the tasks, warm-up, and answer key to fit your class — no need to start from scratch.

Generate a new lesson