Measuring Area with Unit Squares

Area can be measured using unit squares. A unit square is a square whose sides each measure 1 unit and whose area is 1 unit².
You can use unit squares to find area the area of other shapes. If a shape can be evenly divided into squares with no gaps or overlapping, you can count the number of unit squares to find the area. If a shape is divided into unit squares, you can find the area by simply counting up the number of unit squares it contains.
The "unit" in a unit square can represent any unit. If a shape is divided into 1 cm x 1 cm squares, counting the unit squares will give you the area will be in cm². The same is true of any unit.