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How Children Quantify Area, James Wilder

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The Common Core State Standards (2010) requires the quantification of area with the formula for a rectangle, length multiplied by width. More specifically, according to the Standards, third graders are to find the area of a rectangle by tiling it and showing that the area is the same as it would be from multiplying the side lengths. Is this a realistic expectation for third graders? The present study focuses on how children quantify area after receiving instruction on length x width, when asked to compare two rectangles having different dimensions. Fourth, sixth, and eighth graders were interviewed to find out …