Date: September 16, 2002
Grade Level: 2
Subject(s):
Duration: Two 30-minute sessions or 1 hour
Description: This lesson incorporates nonstandard measurement into the classroom through the use of measurement stations for children to explore. Students will be measuring objects with their hands, feet, and pinky fingers.
Goals: Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Mathematics :
Procedure:
Anticipatory Set / Getting Ready:
To begin the lesson and to draw the children's attention toward the focus, read
How Big is a Foot?
by Rolf Myller. This book tells the story of a king who is trying to get a bed made for his queen. A bed was not invented yet, so he did not know how big a bed was. The king and the apprentice decide it must be big enough to fit the queen. The book goes on to tell how the king measures the queen with his feet. The measurements are given to the apprentice. The apprentice makes the bed using his own little feet. When the story is finished, children should be asked why the bed did not fit the queen.
Ask the children what things they all may have that they could use for measurement tools (besides feet). (This allows children to use their prior knowledge toward the lesson.) Next, explain to the children that they are going to be able to find measurements of objects using their own tools. Let children know that they will be working in small groups to work on their activity. A recording chart will be given to each child (see
Materials
for a sample). The children will be using their hands, feet, and pinky fingers to measure at each workstation. Explain to the class that each group will work at one of the five stations in the room. When the whole group is finished at one station, they should all move together to the next station. They will continue moving to each station until they are back where they started. Children will be advised to compare their answers with one another in the group and decide out of all of their answers, which is the smallest and biggest measurement for each tool and at each station.
[It should be explained to students how to correctly make measurements with their measuring tools that they will be using. For example, tell students to start with the base of their palm on the starting tape and then place the base of their next hand where the tips of their fingers from the first hand stop. Continue to explain the correct way to measure with each tool, and explain how to estimate if they come upon, for example, a half of a hand or foot. They can be told to round up one if it is about a half of the measuring tool. Also inform them that if it is not quite a half just disregard that part and keep the whole number they last counted.]
At each of the stations, mark off a certain area (could use tape) for the students to measure.For example, mark off a certain length of the desk top, a book's length, a poster's width, a paper's width, and mark off a certain area of the room.Students are to use their hands, feet, and fingers to measure each station and then record their measurements on their individual recording charts.
Lesson Focus / Students Work:
During this time the children will be in their groups at a workstation. Each of the stations will have a starting point and an ending point for measuring. The children will begin one at a time in their groups. They will record their answers on their recording chart. Walk around the classroom from group to group to observe their measurements Students will continue their way around the classroom by moving from station to the next.
Closure / Class Discourse:
When everyone is finished, bring the class together for a discussion.. Have one child from each group come to the front of the class to show and explain how they came to their results. These group representatives will be explaining the smallest and largest measurements that occurred throughout their group. (The teacher can use a class chart to note the results.) When the class chart is completed, the class will be asked to identify what was the most and least of each object used to measure at each station. Explain to students that the objects they used today for measuring tools all produced different results for the measurement. It should be explained that this could lead to problems, such as the one in the story that was read earlier in class.
Now, ask students "What do you think people use today that allows the measurement of an object to be the same no matter who is measuring it?" Review with children that a ruler is used to produce standard results. [
Author's Note:
For a future lesson, students can learn how to use the ruler for measurement using the same workstations and a new recording sheet. The recording sheets can be compared with the other ones in order to see the accuracy a ruler can produce.]
To end the lesson, students will create their own story in their math journals expressing a problem with measurement such as the one in the story,
How Big is a Foot?
To expand on this idea, have students think of a creative ending to the story that would solve the measurement problem that occurred.
Assessment: Listen to children's responses to the story questions to see if they understand that the bed was too small because two different sized objects were being used. Assessment will also take place as the groups are working at their stations. Listen to the answers children are discovering and recording on their charts. Observe to make sure the children are using their measuring tools correctly and that they know where to begin and stop their measurements. The last way to check assessment is in the closure of the activity. Make sure children's responses to the activity are correct along with their explanations that they share with the class. Their math journals may also be reviewed.
Useful Internet Resource:
*
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Mathematics
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/k12/lib/k12/MATH.pdf
Special Comments:
Special Needs Adaptations:
