Measurements!Why do we need them?

Standard

Non-standard

Overview• For my lesson I used a PowerPoint story to teach the importance of

standard measurement. This lesson went over really well and the students loved it. The students loved being able to interact with technology and having all of the ideas really large was helpful for them. I wish I could have found a way to be able to let the students use the technology but my class was unable to go to the computer lab during the time I taught and we do not have a laptop cart at my school. If I were to do this again I would try to use sound as well. I was the one reading the story but it would have been fun to have a narration of someone else reading the story. I think this lesson went really well and had a positive impact on the students learning.

• While reflecting on what happened I realized that the activities were all very good. Because my students are not used to technology in the classroom it took them some time to calm down but once they were they were completely engaged. If I were to do this again I would make sure that the projector and visuals were all set up before the students came in so it wouldn’t be as much of a distraction. I realized that technology lessons take a lot of time and preparation but I was definitely glad I did it.

• My objectives in this lesson were to have students understand the difference between standard and non-standard measurements and to know why standard measurements are so important.– Using the book for this lesson was a great idea and the

students really enjoyed. It was nice for them to be able to see the pictures and the words in a larger format and to interact with the story in a different way.

• Utah Standards addressed: – Math Objective 2: Identify measurable attributes of

objects and units of measurement, and use appropriate techniques and tools to determine measurements.

• a. Identify the appropriate tools for measuring length, weight, capacity, temperature, and time.

• b. Measure the length of an object using nonstandard units and count the units using groups of tens and ones.

– Objective 3: Collect, organize, and represent simple data.

• a. Collect and represent data using tables, tally marks, pictographs, and bar graphs.

• b. Describe and interpret data.

•This was the first activity we did before completing the lesson. I had the students measure things around the rooms in stations using nonstandard measurements. We then were able to collect and graph our data. I went home and made the graph for the students showing the length of the rug in feet. We talked about the importance of standard measurement and then read the story.

My lesson plan

Our World Rug Measurements

0

1

2

3

4

5

15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

Amount of Students

This was the data we collected. The students were so excited to see this graph finished and loved to talk about and

compare our data.

Principle 1: Although the students were unable to use the technology themselves I think it was a good experience for them to be able to see technology in use. They never use technology in the classroom but go to the computer lab once a week where they are able to play games and programs for 45 minutes. In this lesson the technology was definitely promoting active learning because the students were focused on what they were doing and it allowed us to have a lot of great discussions and stop and talk about certain parts in the story and during the slideshow portion.

How Big is a Foot?By Rolf Myller

This is the story we read, the following slides are examples from the story. All of the pictures are taken from the book.

Principle 2: In this lesson I feel like the technology was a benefit and essential to the success of the lesson. The kids get excited about anything that is different or out of their regular routine so this really peeked their interest. I think it was also good because it allowed for all of the children to see the text and the pictures at the same time instead of reading out of a little book on the rug. Showing the graph was also essential and I think the technology really helped make that have a big impact because the students realized their data had been entered in on the computer. It was good for them to see that graphs can be made on the computer and can be analyzed.

Once upon a time there lived a King and his wife, the Queen.

They were a happy couple for they had everything in the World.

However, when the Queen’s birthday came near the King had a problem. What could he give to someone who had everything?

He counted that the bed must be three feet wide and six feet long to be big enough to fit the Queen(including the crown which the Queen sometimes liked to wear to sleep.)

The students were extremely engaged during the story!

Principle 3: It didn’t take any time for the students to understand how to use the technology and I think this lesson definitely focused their attention on the learning task. They were so engaged with all of the measurement examples and their own graph that it really grabbed the students attention and helped to focus my lesson. I think it was also good to show students how math and technology can be integrated because it is such a common thing in the world today.

And forever after, anyone who wanted to measureanything used a copy of the King’s foot.

And when someone said, “My bed is six feet longand three feet wide,” everyone knew exactly how

big it was.

We used this slide to introduce to students the many different things that we measure. We had them discuss with a partner one of the items on the screen and talk about what is measured.

We were group sharing and talking about what the students thought each object measured.

Principle 4: I definitely think that it was an added value to have the technology because I was able to discuss with the students and move throughout their tables while the picture was still on the screen. It also made it easier for all of the students to see the pictures and the words, helping to promote literacy. I think that the use of this technology was good because instead of having to sit and hold a book I could walk around while telling the story and keep students focused. I also think this added value because I was able to give the students directions through the slides instead of just vocally. I could put up the activity and model for the students what they would be doing without turning my back on them. This was a great activity and the students truly enjoyed it!

• The students were then required to measure items around the room using an “inchworm” that was five inches long.

– The students completed the following worksheet using standard measurements.

– The standards require that first graders can count by 5’s so this lesson helped reinforce that as well.

Overall this lesson went really well and I was glad I tried to

use technology. It is essential to get students used to

technology and used to using it because it is a major part of

the world we live in today and will influence everything they

do in the future.