In Module 4, Topic B, students progress from using square tile manipulatives to drawing their own area models. Anticipating the final structure of an array, they complete rows and columns in figures such as the example shown at the right. Students connect their extensive work with rectangular arrays and multiplication to eventually discover the area formula for a rectangle, which is formally introduced in Grade 4 (3.MD.7a).
In Module 4, Topic C, students manipulate rectangular arrays to concretely demonstrate the arithmetic properties in anticipation of the following lessons. They do this by cutting rectangular grids and rearranging the parts into new wholes using the properties to validate that area stays the same, despite the new dimensions. They apply tiling and multiplication skills to determine all whole number possibilities for the side lengths of rectangles given their areas (3.MD.7b).
Module 4, Topic D creates an opportunity for students to solve problems involving area (3.MD.7b). Students decompose and/or compose composite regions into non-overlapping rectangles, find the area of each region, and add or subtract to determine the total area of the original shape. This leads students to design a simple floor plan that conforms to given area specifications (3.MD.7d).
