Give this before the unit. It doesn't test multiplying to find area (3.MD.C.7). It checks the grade 2 and early grade 3 skills that builds on, so you can see who is ready and what to review first. It isn't meant to be graded. The answer key, with what each part tells you and how to reteach it, prints on its own page after it.
Before we start: this page shows what you already know about rows, columns and counting. It's OK if some of it is new. Try every question, and after each part circle how sure you feel.
Part A: Count the squares 3.MD.C.6, 2.G.A.2
1. How many squares?
squares
2. How many squares?
squares
How sure do you feel? Not yetA littleI've got it
Part B: Rows and columns 2.G.A.2, 2.OA.C.4
3. Look at the egg carton. How many rows? How many eggs in each row? How many eggs in all?
rows in each in all
4. The garden has 3 rows of 5 plants. Write an addition sentence, then find the total.
Area is the number of unit squares that cover a shape.
Cover rectangles with square tiles and count them.
B: Rows and columns
Seeing equal rows is the step from counting to multiplying.
Arrange counters in rows; point to each row as you count.
C: Skip counting
Skip counting by a row's length is the fastest way to find area before the facts are known.
Daily skip-counting chants by 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s.
D: Equal groups
Repeated addition is the meaning of multiplication: 3 rows of 4 = 4 + 4 + 4 = 3 × 4.
Write the addition sentence under every array before writing the multiplication.
Reading the results: students who count every square one by one on #1 and #2 are ready, but slow; skip counting by rows is the next step. Students who notice that every answer is 12 are already thinking like multipliers. Compare the “How sure do you feel?” circles with the answers: a student who circles “I've got it” but misses the part is worth a quick chat.