Mathematics

Intermediate

50 mins

Teacher/Student led

Learning Goals

Learning Outcomes

Lesson Files

+65 XP

Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Area of Rectangles: Rows by Columns

Pupils learn to find a rectangle's area by multiplying rows by columns, connecting this to counting every square and writing the answer in square centimetres.

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Draw and Multiply in Your Copy
5 Class Challenge
Pupil practice

Your turn

Your teacher is running this lesson on the board. Here is the part you can try yourself.

Your written work is on page 56

Area model

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Illustration for Getting Started Here is a rectangle covered in equal squares. The top row has 5 squares, and there are 4 rows stacked up.

Key point

If each row has 5 squares and there are 4 rows, do we really have to count every single square to find how many there are? Or is there a faster way?

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

Each interactive shows a rectangle made of equal squares and its rows-by-columns multiplication. Count the squares with the class first, then check that rows times squares-per-row lands on the same area.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~9 mins

Key point

Today we work through four rectangles one after another in the same board tool: 3 × 4, then 5 × 4, then 6 × 5, and finally 8 × 6. For each one, the pupil at the board builds the rows and columns and says the multiplication.

Everyone else has a job too: before each rectangle is built, predict the multiplication aloud with the class. Then we check that rows-times-columns matches counting the squares.

Build the rectangle, then multiply

+15 XP

4 - Draw and Multiply in Your Copy ~3 mins

COPYBOOK MOMENT

In your maths copy, draw a 5 cm by 3 cm rectangle on the squared page. Count the squares to find the area, then write the matching multiplication underneath it:

5 × 3 = ___ cm²

+10 XP

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

Key point

Today we find the area of these rectangles in turn: 3 × 4, then 6 × 5, then 9 × 4, and finally 7 × 5. Each one is a little bigger, so the times-table fact does more of the work as we go.

Find the area of each rectangle

+15 XP

Pupil practice

Module 5 · Area, Perimeter and Volume Measures

Lesson 60 · Area of Rectangles: Rows by Columns

Download Activity Book page (PDF)

123learn · Online learning platform

Unlock the full learning experience

You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.

Hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons

Interactive activities in every lesson

Printable resources & progress tracking

Get started

Copyright Notice
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.

Area of Rectangles: Rows by Columns

Teacher Class Feed

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

3 - Try It Together ~9 mins

Build the rectangle, then multiply

4 - Draw and Multiply in Your Copy ~3 mins

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

Find the area of each rectangle

Unlock the full learning experience

XP