NCTM Illuminations has an excellent PDF based resource on using the area model to teach both the distributive property and factoring out the greatest common factor. I used this resource frequently during the six years I taught Algebra 1.
One year, several of my students really appreciated this structure for working out their problems. I ended up creating a sheet of blank area models for them to use as an organization tool.
Instead of just letting this file sit on my hard drive like it has since I created it back in 2014, I decided I should share it with the world in case someone else’s students might benefit from it.
Sarah Carter teaches high school math in her hometown of Coweta, Oklahoma. She currently teaches AP Precalculus, AP Calculus AB, and Statistics. She is passionate about sharing creative and hands-on teaching ideas with math teachers around the world through her blog, Math = Love.
