Area by Counting Unit Squares

What is Area?

Area is the amount of flat space a shape covers. Imagine a rug on a floor, a painting on a canvas, or a sticker on your notebook—the amount of surface they cover is their area.

What is a Unit Square?

To measure area, we use something called a unit square. A unit square is simply a square where all four sides are exactly $1$ unit long (like $1$ centimeter, $1$ inch, or $1$ foot).

Because it represents one unit of space, we say its area is $1$ square unit.

How to Find Area by Counting

Finding the area of a shape is as simple as counting! If a shape is drawn on a grid, you can find its area by counting how many unit squares fit completely inside it.

Here are the simple steps to follow:

1. Look at the shape on the grid.
2. Count every single square inside the shape. Point to each one as you count so you don't miss any or count the same square twice.
3. The total number of squares you counted is your area.

Example: If you count $8$ squares inside a rectangle, the area is $8$ square units. If you are told that the grid squares are measured in centimeters, you would say the area is $8$ square centimeters.

Comparing Areas

You can also use counting to figure out which shape is bigger.

• Let's say you count the squares in Shape A and find $12$ unit squares. Its area is $12$ square units.
• Then, you count the squares in Shape B and find $9$ unit squares. Its area is $9$ square units.

Since $12$ is greater than $9$, Shape A has a larger area than Shape B!

Helpful Tip: Always remember to include the words "square units" (or square inches, square centimeters) after your number. This tells everyone that you are measuring the area of a flat surface, not just a straight line!