Measurement – Lesson 1

Lesson
Introduction to Measurement Date Tuesday, May 22
Title/Focus
Subject/Grade Time
Grade 3 Math 9:30 – 10:30 (60 minutes)
Level Duration

Unit Measurement Teacher Kirsten Hewitt

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General Learning
Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems
Outcomes:
Specific Learning Demonstrate an understanding of measuring length (cm, m) by:
Outcomes:  Selecting and justifying referents for cm and m
 Estimating length, using referents
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. Evaluate the best referent to measure different objects
2. Determine the lengths of different objects in relation to other objects
ASSESSMENTS
Observations:  Students’ measuring
Key Questions:  Who is the tallest in Room 8?
 Which tool is the best for measuring each object?
Products/Performances:  Students’ recording in their math book (Tallest in the class)
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
 Smartboard chart of student names
 Smartboard chart of objects to measure and tools used
 Pencils, string, paper clips, playing cards to measure with
 Student math centers books
PROCEDURE
Introduction Time
Pre-Lesson Warm Up Students’ multiplication ‘mad minute’ books 5 minutes
Attention Grabber Have the different referents laying out on the tall table as students come in
in the morning
Learning Goal Students will use different things to measure objects in the classroom and
1 minute
then decide which measurement tool works best for which object
Advance Organizer/Agenda 1. Today, students will be practicing using non-standard
measurement tools as a class
2. Students will be rotating through ‘centers’ where they will use
2 minutes
different tools to measure objects
3. At the end, students will decide which tool was the best for
measuring each object and explain why
Transition to Body On the Smartboard, bring up the question that students will be answering
1 minute
as a class. Who is the tallest student in Room 8?
Body Time
Learning Activity #1 Student Measurement as a class
 Students will sit on the carpet in a circle with their math centers
books
 Students will take turns laying in the middle of the circle
 Using the teacher’s feet, students will be measured to see how 25
many ‘feet’ they are minutes
 Record the answer on the Smartboard and have students record
the answer in their books beside the name of the student
 At the bottom of the page, have students determine who is the
tallest in the class based on the number of ‘feet’ they are
Assessments/ Differentiation: Product:
 Check students’ books for correctly recorded information and
whether or not they were able to determine who the tallest in the
Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe 1
 Measurement – Lesson 1
class is

Differentiation:
 Use Ronan’s book as the example for how to set up the students’
page
Learning Activity #2 Class Objects Measurement
 In small groups, students will use a particular referent to measure
various objects in the room
 These referents are:
 Pieces of string
 Pencils
 Playing cards
 Paper clips 25
minutes
 Their own feet
 Their own hands
(5 minutes
 The objects they are measuring are: at each
 Their desk object)
 The shelves
 The carpet
 The distance from the door to the cozy corner
 Miss Hewitt’s center boxes
 Students will use each of the referents to measure each of the
items in the class. They will record their measurements in a table
in their math books
Assessments/ Differentiation Observation:
 Observe students’ measuring and give pointers on proper
measuring technique
 As students are working, ask them which tool is the easiest to
measure certain objects

Differentiation:
 Make up a chart for those students with messier writing/ recording
Learning Activity #3 Tool Choice
 Once students have measured all the objects with the different
tools, they should write a few sentences in their books explaining 7 minutes
which tool was the best for measuring each object and why they
think that
Assessments/ Differentiation Key Question:
 Which tool is the best for measuring each object?
Closure Time
Consolidation of Learning: Gather students back on the carpet and ask a few of them what their
2 minutes
answers were for the best tool for certain objects.
Feedback to Students Give students any pointers on how best they can measure using the
1 minute
referents.
Feedback from Students Ask students, if based on their measurements, they can guess which object
1 minute
in the classroom that they measured is the longest?
Transition to Next Lesson Next lesson we will be measuring the same objects, but we will be using
1 minute
rulers and meter sticks
Sponge Activities Time
Activity # 1

Adapted from a template created by Dr. K. Roscoe 2