KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher Candidate: ____Taylor Shupp_______________________
Date: __9/23/14
Cooperating Teacher: __Dr. White_____________________________
Coop. Initials: ________________
Group Size: __24________ Allotted Time: 60 minutes_
Grade Level: ___2nd grade____
Subject or Topic: Measuring with Yards and Meters
Section: ____938________
STANDARD: (PA Common Core):
CC.2.4.2.A.1: Measure and estimate lengths in standard units using appropriate tools.
I. Performance Objectives
A. Students will be able to use the appropriate tool to measure the length of an object in standard measurement
units.
II. Instructional Materials
Chalkboard/whiteboard with chalk/markers
12 yardsticks (students may share)
12 metersticks (students may share)
24 rulers
Various manipulatives for non-standard measurement
o Cuisenaire Rods
o Linking cubes
o Paperclips
o Erasers
o Pencils
o Notecards
o Any other math manipulative or other resource in the classroom
How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller
24 math journals
24 Measurement Discovery Guides
24 rubrics
III. Subject Matter/ Content
A. Content
1. One way to measure something is by using non-standard units of measurement, which could be
anything, such as paperclips, hands, or erasers.
2. One problem with non-standard measurement is that it is not universal, and that is why standard units
of measurement were introduced.
3. There are two versions of standard measurement: The metric system, which is used around the world
and includes units such as centimeters and meters, and the U.S. customary system which is most
commonly used in the United States and includes units such as inches and yards.
4. There are different units of standard measurement, and they can be useful for measuring different
things.
a. Inches and centimeters are good for measuring some things, but there are bigger units of
measurement that could make measuring easier.
b. Yards and meters are larger units of measurement that are often used to measure distances or
longer lengths.
5. When estimating distance, it is important to realize that the estimate does not have to be correct; it is
only an "educated guess" and can be wrong. The steps for estimating distance are as follows:
1. Look at the distance and estimate how long it is. Write this estimate down.
2. Measure the distance with the appropriate measuring tool and write the actual measurement
down.
3. Compare the two numbers.
6. Choosing the correct measurement tool is very important to measuring something well. Students
should be able to choose between measuring in inches/yards and centimeters/meters by looking at the

object or distance and trying to determine which unit of measurement would be best to use.
B. Prerequisite Skills
1. Knowledge of the standard units of measurement "inches" and "centimeters."
2. Basic knowledge of some basic measuring tools such as a ruler and a tape measure.
3. Understanding of how to measure something with non-standard measurement.
4. Basic understanding of how to estimate something.
C. Key Vocabulary
1. Non-standard measurement: A type of measurement that uses different objects to measure lengths.
2. Standard unit of measurement: A unit of measure that has been defined by a recognized authority such
as a government or standards organization.
3. Estimate: To give or form a general idea about the value, size, or cost of something.
4. Yard: A unit of linear measurement equal to 3 feet or 36 inches.
5. Meter: The fundamental unit of length in the metric system, equal to 100 centimeters.
D. Big Idea: There are several units of standard measurement, and it is important to be able to select and use
the appropriate measuring tool to measure the length of something.
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction1. The teacher will introduce the lesson by explaining to the students that she has a problem and is not
quite sure how to fix it.
a. She will say that she is getting a brand new desk and that she is really excited because it is
much bigger and nicer than her current one. She will explain that there is one problem,
however; she is not sure if the new desk will fit through the doorway. She needs to somehow
find out how wide the doorway is so she can tell the movers if the desk will fit. She will ask
the students, "How do you think I should figure out how wide our doorway is?"
i. The students will probably give some ways in which they could measure the
doorway.
2. The teacher will then ask the students, "What things around the classroom do you think you could
use to measure the doorway?"
a. Some expected answers would be things such as hands, shoes, paperclips, pencils, notebooks,
etc.
3. The teacher will then have students work in pairs and pick a tool to measure the doorway with. She
will record their measurements on the blackboard/whiteboard as they complete them.
a. The teacher will also give the students access to math manipulatives such as linking cubes and
Cuisenaire rods to measure with.
B. Development1. After the students have finished measuring, the teacher will have them sit down and look at the various
measurements on the board. She will go over all of the measurements and tell the students to look at
them and think about what may be different among them.
2. The teacher will then ask the students, "What problems did you run into while measuring, or what
problems could you see with measuring something with these materials?"
a. They may say that the measurements are different or that two students used shoes to measure
the doorway yet got different measurements.
b. The teacher will explain that these are some problems with what we call non-standard
measurement, and that they are going to read about someone else who had some similar
problems.
3. The teacher will then read How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller.
a. She will stop throughout the book and ask questions such as "Is this something similar to
the problem you had," or, "Why do you think they had this problem?"
b. After they are finished reading, the teacher will ask the students what they thought about the
book and what they learned from it.
4. The teacher will explain that the king had a problem similar to the problem they had with measurement;
not all feet are the same, just like not all hands, shoes, or pencils are the same size. This makes it hard
to measure something with these objects and tell someone else the measurement, because that person
may not have the same size objects to measure with.
a. She will ask the students, "How would you tell the movers how wide our doorway is?" and
she will explain that it could be really hard to do so while using non-standard measurement.

5. The teacher will explain that due to these problems, people came up with "standard measurement." She
will tell the students that they already learned a little bit about standard measurement before, and she
will ask them, "Do you remember any examples of what standard measurement is?"
a. Some of the answers could be tools used for standard measurement such as a ruler or a
measuring tape, or it could be units of measurement such as centimeter or inch. The teacher
will write these on the board as the students say them, and if they have trouble then she will
help them remember by giving them clues.
b. She will explain that a standard unit of measurement is one that has been defined by someone
in authority like the government. Even if different people measure the same thing with a
specific unit of standard measurement, they will get the same measurement.
6. The teacher will then ask the students, "Were some items easier to measure the doorway with than
others?"
a. The students will most likely say that bigger items, such as shoes or notebooks, were easier to
measure the doorway with than smaller items, such as paperclips or linking cubes.
7. She will then explain that the reason these items were easier to measure the door with were simply
because they were bigger, so there were less needed to measure the doorway. She will then ask the
students, "Do you think that paperclips or notebooks would be easier to measure an eraser with?"
The students will say that the paperclips would be easier, and the teacher would explain that this is
because they are smaller, so it makes them better to measure a smaller object.
8. The teacher will explain that just like there are some non-standard units of measurement that are better to
measure objects due to their size, there are also some standard units of measurement that are better for
measuring specific objects due to size as well.
9. The teacher will remind the students that they already learned about inches and centimeters, which are
some units of standard measurement. She will quickly review what an inch and a centimeter is by
showing them on a ruler. She will ask the students, "Do you think it would be easier to measure the
doorway with inches or centimeters?"
a. The students will say that it would be easier to measure with inches, and the teacher will tell
the students that is correct due to an inch being larger than a centimeter.
10. The teacher will explain that there are even bigger standard units of measurement that a person can use
to measure bigger things with. She will explain that inches and centimeters are good for measuring
short lengths, but that these bigger standard units can be used when trying to measure something
longer or taller.
a. She will then show the students a yardstick and explain that when someone measures with
this, they measure in "yards." She will explain that a yard is a standard unit of measurement
and that it is 36 inches long. She will then write this on the board.
b. She will then show the students a meterstick and explain that when someone measures with
this, they measure in "meters." She will explain that a meter is also a standard unit of
measurement and is 100 centimeters long. She will also write this on the board.
11. The teacher will explain to the students that in the United States, both the metric system and the U.S.
customary system are used for measuring. The metric system includes the centimeters and meters, and
it is usually used for science, math, and some work fields. The U.S. customary system is the one that
people use on a daily basis and includes inches and yards.
12. The teacher will have a discussion with the students about the distances and lengths that could be
measured with each type of measurement.
a. She will explain that some things like the distance traveled by runners in a race or the distance
of an object thrown in sports is often measured in meters, while things like the length of a
hallway or the length of a piece of fabric is often measured in yards. She will ask the students,
"Can you think of any other times you heard something measured in yards or meters?"
13. The teacher will then explain that they are going to practice what they have been learning about
estimating distances while also practicing the new units of measurement by trying to estimate some
lengths of items in the room and then measuring them with the metersticks.
a. The teacher will remind students that when you estimate something, you do not need to be
correct. An estimate is just an "educated guess" and it is okay if it is wrong!
b. The teacher will then have the students estimate the lengths of a wall in the classroom, the
reading carpet, and her desk and then measure them to write down the actual measurement in
meters. The students will write these measurements in their math journals.
14. They will go over the journal answers as a class, with several students sharing their estimations and
their actual measurements.
15. The teacher will then explain that she wants to measure the distance from one side of the room to the
other. She will hold up a meterstick and a ruler and ask them, "Would it be easier to measure the
distance in meters or centimeters?"

a. They should say that meters would be better.

16. The teacher will then explain that she wants to measure the length of the blackboard and will hold up a
yardstick and a ruler and ask the students, "Would it make more sense to measure the blackboard
in yards or inches?"
a. The students should say that yards would be better.
17. The teacher will then tell the students that they need to choose 5 other things in the classroom, choose
the best unit of standard measurement to measure those things with, and then record the measurement
for each object on their Discovery Sheet.
a. The teacher will explain that they can measure the length/width of something or the distance
between two things.
C. Closure
1. After the students have finished measuring their objects/distances, they will go over some of their
measurements as a class.
a. The teacher will ask a few students to share one of their measurements and they will talk
about them as a class.
2. The teacher will then review the concepts of the day with the students by asking them a few questions
and having them Think-Pair-Share about each question before calling on a few of them to share their
answers.
a. "What are some problems with using non-standard units of measurement?"
b. "If you were going to measure the length of the hallway, would it be better to measure in
yards or inches, and why?"
c. "If you were going to measure the distance between the doorway and the window, would
it be better to measure in meters or centimeters, and why?"
d. "Why is it sometimes better to use bigger units of measurement to measure things?"
3. The teacher will tell the students that tomorrow they will learn about even more units of measurement,
and she will collect their Discovery Guides.

D. Accommodations/Differentiation- The teacher could pair students according to ability to enable some
struggling students to be helped and scaffolded by stronger students. The teacher could provide individual
books for students when reading or use a Big Book. The teacher could also allow a student to give her the
answers to the Discovery Guide orally rather than written down.
E. Assessment/Evaluation plan:
1. Formative:
a. The students will be assessed on their understanding of "meters" and "yards" and also on their
ability to use appropriate tools for measurement by the teacher grading their Discovery
Guides with the included rubric.
2. Summative: There is no summative assessment for this lesson
V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Students Performance in Terms of States Objectives

B. Personal Reflection
1. How could this lesson be improved?

2.

Was the opening enough of a "hook" and exciting enough to capture the students' attention?

3.

Did the lesson need more hands-on activities?

VI. Resources
Dairyko, M. E. (2012). Everyday mathematics (Comon core state standards ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Wright
Group/McGraw-Hill.