They will immediately discover the answer. Now designate a larger square region of the floor. Have the students make connecting squares within the region. They continue to make squares with one foot sides until each person has his or her own square. At this point they have proved for themselves the answer to the above question.
Additional application is needed to get a full and thorough insight into area.
Give each student several surfaces to measure the area of. The teacher should determine the particular units to use. In my own lessons, measurements are done using either the English or metric system. Whenever a student arrives at the probable answer, he or she comes to me and asks for a piece of drywall tape the exact size required to cover the area. It should be noted that the teacher may use any kind of material suitable for covering the surface.