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Sample Lesson Plans
Using Literature to Teach Elementary School Math and Science
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education
ED312, Spring 1996; Professor Maria Varelas
Lesson by Miriam Ortuzar
- Third Grade
- I found it amusing and Ii think young children will enjoy it as they learn a difficult topic.
- Introductory piece to the concept of standard units in measurements.
- Day 1:
I would read this book aloud and we would discuss the story after which I would ask them to get into small groups and have them answer questions such as: What else could the King have used to measure the Queen? The king order a bed for the Queen that was three feet wide and six feet long. That is exatly what the apprentice carpenter made. Why didn't it work? The King saw the completed bed before the Queen's birthday. Why didn't he know it was too small? The King needed to measure the Queen to get the right size bed. Why do people today need to use standard measurements? Then we would discuss these questions as a whole class. The activity I would do is to have each student trace around his/her foot on a piece of construction paper.Have them cut the foot and use it to measure various items in the classroom such as the chalkboard, their desk, the height of their chair and desk, the width and length of the room and their height. I would have them estimate the measurements first, this way they will also have practice with estimation. The data will be recorded on data tables similar to the one shown here.
Object Estimate Actual measurement We would then discuss their findings as a whole class, I would put their data on the board and I would ask questions such as: Why does the chalkboard differ in measurements? Is it shrinking and expanding as we speak? What problems they see with these measurements? What problems would arise if we wanted to build a bridge and we did not have standard measurements? Hopefully they will see that they need to arrive at a standard foot measaurement.
For homework, students will find objects and measure them using their own foot unit, the same they did in class but with different objects. They may find them in newspapers, on labels, and around the house. Make a list showing the object and its measurement in feet using a data table such as:
Day 2:
Object Measurement in Feet The student and I will discuss the homework, I will make a list of the objects and their measurements in feet on the board. I would then lead a discussion on how the King used his feet to measure the queen in the book we read yesterday. The problem was that his feet and the apprentice carptenter's feet weren't the same size. Once the sculpture of the King's foot was made, a foot was always the same. I would have the children discuss different measurements and categorize them by those that are always the same size (standard) and those that are not (nonstandard). For example, peanuts are not all the same size but paper clips are. Then the students will measure the same items as yesterday, but this time using an unofficial standard measure, such as paper clips. They will estimate first and record their data on data tables similar to yesterday's table. We would discuss the similarities of their data and the importance of having standard measurements.
I would then introduce customary units of length: inch, foot, yard, and mile. I would relate the units to familair things. For example, the length of an ordinary postage stamp is about one inch, a football is about one foot long, a baseball bat is about one yard long, a mile is about eight city blocks. I would emphasize that the mile is used to measure long distances, such as the distance across a state. Activity: To practice these concepts I would give them a work sheet asking them to estimate whether they would use inch, foot, yard, or mile to measure the following: width of a book, length of their classroom, Length of a soccer field, width of your hand, length of a bus trip,distance to Mexico, length of a house, length of their nose, distance to the sun, etc. We would discuss these as a whole class. For homework, students will find objects around the house and in their neighborhood that can be measured using inches, feet, yerd,and miles. They will write their data on data tables such as:
Day3:
Object Best Measurement Unit to Use Length of kitchen table feet length of your nose inches We would discuss their homework and determine which unit of measurement are most appropriate in a given context. If I tell them how many light-years it is from Chicago to California, they get very little useful information. Using smaller units of measure are better, miles for Chicago-California and feet for a living room. To reinforce these concepts I would have the children get into groups of four to play a game using customary units of length. Each group will choose eight objects in the classroom to measure, using a ruler and a yard stick, and they will write on an index card the measurement and a descriptive clue of each object, such as: 10 ninches long-Used to find meaning, to suggest a dictionary. After each group has found and measrue their 8 objects the groups will exchange index cards. The purpose is to find 8 objects the other group chose just by the measurement and its description or clue. I would enourage students to use inches, feet, and yards. The first group to find all 8 items on their card wins.
How would I decide if these activities were successful? First, I would ask them to write a summary of what they learned about measurements in their math journal. Another way to find out whether students learned is by setting up a performance assessment. I would identify standard objects in the classroom that all students can measure. For example, I would ask students to measure the length and width of their desks, the length of their math book, length of a piece of paer, length of the chalkboard, and the length and width of the classroom. Once I have identified the measurements, students would carry out the task. I would also walk around the room as the children performed this assessment and using checklist I would check for proper use of a ruler and a yardstick (topics we would have already cover),and use of appropriate units to measure. I will accept different answers as long as the students can justify it. For example, the length and width of the classroom can be measure in yards or feet but not in miles.
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