In this article, associate professor Chrystal Dean describes how teachers can challenge their upper elementary students' understanding of area beyond a memorized formula. Herein she describes an activity that will show students the "why" behind using A = l × w to solve rectangular area problems. The activity will help deepen students' understanding of the area of a rectangle, especially those who have already used the formula. This variation of Simon's (1995) rectangle exploration will have students investigating area in a conceptual manner that goes beyond tiling and formulas.