Global Concept 1: Measuring Objects Using Customary Units
This week we started a new unit. I think at first my kids were excited because they were getting pretty tired of fractions towards the end of the unit. However, they realized that everything they learned previously builds off each other, as fractions is needed for measurement, especially when measuring with a ruler, which is just the same as a number line.
Unlike fractions, this was not the first time students worked with measurement so it was more familiar to them when we first started. We began with customary units (inch, feet, yard, mile) by making a foldable (below). The foldable sorted the units of measurement from least to greatest. It also provided students with an example of the size of each unit. For example, a manipulative cube is the size of an inch and a baseball bat is a yard. Then, they got the chance to go around the room and find examples of these units of measurement. Most of my kids understood this concept relatively quickly and was able to explain why a unit of measurement is more efficient to use over another.
Next, we began to measure with a ruler to thoroughly gain an understanding how to read a ruler. We started by learning how to measure to the nearest half inch, something once again, they seemed to understand quickly. We created a magnified ruler on a sentence strip that magnified the small lines on a ruler and the correlating fraction each line represents. Accordingly, when it came to measuring to the nearest inch, half inch and quarter inch we began by giving our kids rulers and real objects from outside and around the room and letting them measure. One important concept, we stressed was that the reason it is important to measure to the nearest half or fourth of an inch is because it provides a more accurate measurement- not because you will get the answer wrong, which is what many of my kiddos thought at first.
Without a doubt, my kids struggled the most with measuring to the nearest fourth of an inch. They had trouble connecting that 2/4 is equivalent to 1/2. I know it's because they are still lacking a solid concept of how a number line works and what each line actually represents. Next week, I plan to start with a little reteaching of how to read a number line and what each 1/4 inch line actually stands for. My plan is to make a comparison to something they are familiar and comfortable with. For example, compare a box cut into 4 equal sized pieces to a number line from zero to 1, which will be broken into 4 pieces. One box colored in is the same as jumping from 0 to the next line- both are 1/4.
This week we started a new unit. I think at first my kids were excited because they were getting pretty tired of fractions towards the end of the unit. However, they realized that everything they learned previously builds off each other, as fractions is needed for measurement, especially when measuring with a ruler, which is just the same as a number line.
Unlike fractions, this was not the first time students worked with measurement so it was more familiar to them when we first started. We began with customary units (inch, feet, yard, mile) by making a foldable (below). The foldable sorted the units of measurement from least to greatest. It also provided students with an example of the size of each unit. For example, a manipulative cube is the size of an inch and a baseball bat is a yard. Then, they got the chance to go around the room and find examples of these units of measurement. Most of my kids understood this concept relatively quickly and was able to explain why a unit of measurement is more efficient to use over another.
Next, we began to measure with a ruler to thoroughly gain an understanding how to read a ruler. We started by learning how to measure to the nearest half inch, something once again, they seemed to understand quickly. We created a magnified ruler on a sentence strip that magnified the small lines on a ruler and the correlating fraction each line represents. Accordingly, when it came to measuring to the nearest inch, half inch and quarter inch we began by giving our kids rulers and real objects from outside and around the room and letting them measure. One important concept, we stressed was that the reason it is important to measure to the nearest half or fourth of an inch is because it provides a more accurate measurement- not because you will get the answer wrong, which is what many of my kiddos thought at first.
Without a doubt, my kids struggled the most with measuring to the nearest fourth of an inch. They had trouble connecting that 2/4 is equivalent to 1/2. I know it's because they are still lacking a solid concept of how a number line works and what each line actually represents. Next week, I plan to start with a little reteaching of how to read a number line and what each 1/4 inch line actually stands for. My plan is to make a comparison to something they are familiar and comfortable with. For example, compare a box cut into 4 equal sized pieces to a number line from zero to 1, which will be broken into 4 pieces. One box colored in is the same as jumping from 0 to the next line- both are 1/4.