Area as a geometric quantity: PCN and BNCC guidelines with an emphasis on semiotic representations

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the concept of area of plane figures and how it is grasped within Elementary School, according to the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN) and the Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC). To that end, it is based on the theoretical model proposed by Douady and Perrin-Glorian, exposed in Bellemain and Lima, that is related to the teaching of geometric quantities and according to the assumptions of semiotic representation registers by Duval. Characterized as qualitative research of the documental kind, the study is grounded in principles of the content analysis. The findings show that both the PCN and the BNCC emphasize the importance of using different mathematical representations. In both documents, the concepts/contents of area, in their majority, are in the content block/thematic unit of Quantities and Measurements. It appears that the BNCC, in addition to indications of figurative, numerical, algebraic and graphic registers as in PCN, also favors registers in natural language. There are indications, in both documents, of sequential, perceptive, discourse and operative intake.