Developers

M-GLAnCE Project Directors
Debbie Ferry
Macomb ISD
Mathematics Consultant / Carol Nowakowski
Retired
Mathematics Consultant
K-4 Project Coordinator / Marie Copeland
Warren Consolidated
Macomb MSTC
5-8 Project Coordinator
2004 Project Contributors
David Andrews
Chippewa Valley Schools / William Ashton
FraserPublic Schools / Lynn Bieszki
Chippewa Valley Schools
Sharon Chriss
Romeo Schools / Kimberly DeShon
AnchorBaySchool District / Barbara Diliegghio
Retired, Math Consultant
Kimberly Dolan
AnchorBaySchool District / Jodi Giraud
L’Anse Creuse Schools / Julie Hessell
Romeo Schools
Amy Holloway
Clintondale Schools / Barbara Lipinski
AnchorBaySchool District / Linda Mayle
Romeo Schools
Therese Miekstyn
Chippewa Valley Schools / James Navetta
Chippewa Valley Schools / Gene Ogden
AnchorBaySchool District
Rebecca Phillion
Richmond Comm. Schools / Charlene Pitrucelle
AnchorBaySchool District / Shirley Starman
Van Dyke Public Schools
Ronald Studley
AnchorBaySchool District
2005 and 2006 Session/Module Developers
Carol Nowakowski
Retired, Math Consultant / Deb Barnett
Lake Shore Public Schools / Luann Murray
Genesee ISD
Kathy Albrecht
Retired, Math Consultant / Jo-Anne Schimmelpfenneg
Retired, Math Consultant / Marie Copeland
Warren Consolidated
Terri Faitel
Trenton Public Schools / Debbie Ferry
Macomb ISD

Kindergarten Participant Packet-Session 3

Focus on: Measurement Attributes

Name of Activity / Description of Activity / Materials/Handouts / Key Tips for Teacher
I. Ordering Students
By Height
Adapted from: Connect to NCTM Standards 2000, Kindergarten /
  • Prepare an area on the floor with a masking tape line.
  • Invite 6 to 8 students to line up on this masking tape line, ordering themselves by height.
  • Then pick 3 other students who are seated to place themselves in the correct order. Ask “Where do you fit? How do you know?”
  • Continue to add 3 more students at a time until all are in order.
/
  • Masking tape
/
  • Encourage students to explain how classmates are ordered.
  • Additional questions to ask each time:
Who is shortest? Tallest?
Who is shorter than ______? Taller than?
Who is the same height?
II. A House for Birdie
(Lengths using words)
portion adapted from
Connect to NCTM Standards 2000
Activity 2: Cheerio!
III. Super Saturday Sand
Castles
(Measuring in Non-
Standard) /
  • Read the story, “A House for Birdie.”
  • While reading the book to students, ask them to predict which bird will fit in the upcoming house. Students will have to consider height and width of the house compared to the bird.
  • Share the house activity, “Arranging Shortest to Tallest.” Be sure to discuss where the baseline will be and how your students might place their house if baseline is not established.
  • Extension activity: Students bring in their favorite teddy bear to class. Have several empty boxes (houses) in front of the room or in a center. Students need to find a house for their teddy bear. Whose teddy bear fits into each house?
  • Make connection to A House for Birdie by introducing nonstandard measurement of various worm lengths. Students will use cheerios as the unit of measure. Have students identify the shortest and longest worm. They will need to measure each worm to be able to seriate from shortest to longest.
  • Share the story, stopping before the discussion about inches.
  • Have students measure their height using adding machine tape. Place them in groups of two. Note the various ways that students are measuring each other.
  • Each adding machine tape length will later be hung on the wall creating a class graph with a name written on each piece.
  • The adding machine tape lengths will be measured using other materials such as popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, etc. This activity helps develop the concept of “unit”.
  • After students have recorded on their given chart (see Key Tips), then have them tape their charts together at a designated area.
  • Measure their piece of adding machine tape (height) using 3 different non-standard units.
  • Lastly, finish reading the book and discuss why we waited to complete the reading at a later time in the lesson.
/
  • A House for Birdie, Stuart J Murphy
  • Arranging Shortest to Tallest (Participant pgs. 9, 10) from Connect to NCTM Standards 2000
  • Cheerios
  • Cheerio! Worksheet (Participant pg. 11)
  • Baggies or paper/plastic bowls
  • SuperSaturdaySandCastles, Stuart J. Murphy
  • Adding machine tape
  • Other suggested measuring materials: pipe cleaners, Twizzlers, pretzel rods, straws, popsicle sticks, etc
  • Generic chart to record measure.
/
  • Students need to measure from the same baseline. Student perception of measurement changes in the absence of a base line. Piaget concludes that during their development of understanding measurement (Conservation of Length) –students need to explore comparing lengths of objects before they are able to recognize or resolve this conflict.
  • Ask students to estimate before finding the actual amount of cheerios each worm length is.
  • Teachers will need to model for their students how to use the line in the middle of the worm to line up their Cheerios.
  • As a suggested homework assignment, have students take a baggie of cereal and their paper home to show their family how to do it.
Students will need a demo of how to correctly measure.
  • Taping down one end of the adding machine tape may help, as one child measures another. May wish to place students in groups of three.
  • How do the students measure themselves?
Do they use their hands? Do they go back-to-back? Do they remove their shoes?
  • For an extension of this activity, create a separate chart for each type of material used to measure the adding machine tape length. Label with NAME and a space for the NUMBER OF UNITS (sticks, rods, etc.)
Measuring Tool :
Name / Number of Units
  • Develop a conceptual understanding of why we need to use a unit model to compare how each works.
  • Ask questions such as: Since Sue is 22 popsicle sticks tall and Joe is 18 sticks tall, then Sue is taller, correct? Have students think about this statement and hopefully conclude that it is incorrect, with showing rationale.

IV. Ladybug Lengths
Adapted from: Illuminations.org /
  • Read the book, Ladybug on the Move.
  • After reading, use precut strips of yarn to trace the trail on about 5 pages and determine the length of the trail (how far the ladybug traveled). Make 2 sets.
  • Turn back through the book and have students estimate which page shows the longest trip. Then exactly measure the trip on each page with a different color of yarn. Cut.
  • Tape each piece of yarn onto chart paper and record which path it represents such as, “leaf to flower pot”.
  • Then have students line up their foam Ladybug shapes and measure each yarn length.
  • Ask class to compare the lengths.
  • Using the second set of yarn lengths, place all of the yarn strips in one line end to end to show the length of the entire trip.
  • Next, provide each student with a copy of the Ladybug Lengths worksheet and a supply of red beans.
  • Ask them to measure a few of the line lengths with the beans (ladybugs) by placing them end-to-end. (Could be a center activity).
/
  • Pre-cut pieces of yarn in different colors (2 sets)
  • Ladybug on the Move, Richard Fowler
  • Red beans
  • Foam Ladybug shapes or sprayed “ladybugs” created by using lima beans.
  • Ladybug Lengths worksheet (Participant pg. 12)
  • Chart for 5 paths/trails for the measurement in foam ladybugs.
/
  • By taping all of the yarn lengths together to show the entire distance traveled by the ladybug demonstrates to students the concept of the whole trip being longer than any single portion. Also, a part-part-whole model is created.
  • Young children need lots of practice with non-standard units before using a ruler.
  • Initial use of rulers should only be non-standard, showing units lined end-to-end – 1st grade.
  • Tie in the GLCEs whenever appropriate throughout the lesson.
  • Example of chart (5 trails) could be show on paper size on projector or large chart paper.
Path / Yarn strip / Length
Leaf to pot / green / 6 foam bugs
V. Wooly Worms
Activity 1 /
  • Pass out a variety of “wooly worms” at each table, one per student.
  • Brainstorm responses from students regarding attributes of their “worms”. Record these vocabulary words on a chart.
  • Ask students to find a space on the floor. Use some of these words and have them role play. For example, “Pretend that you are a curly worm, a straight worm, a wriggly worm, a short worm.” Try to incorporate words from the GLCEs M.UN.00.04 and M.PS.00.05.
  • Ask questions regarding the worms at their table, such as:
What can you tell me about these worms? How are they the same? How are they different? Which one is the shortest? Longest? Can you order them from shortest to longest? This will be an estimation, since some of the worms are wound in a spiral or formed into a zig zag.
  • Have students record the ordering of their worms on a sheet with the Prediction and then the Actual measurement. For the Actual measurement, have them use the foam ladybugs shapes, foam worms or red beans. They will measure their own worm and then their partner’s worm.
  • Have a discussion concerning how they figured out the best way to get an Actual measurement. (straighten out their worm).
/
  • Several pre-cut “worms” using pipe cleaners of different color, length, and shape.
(pipe cleaners can be straight lengths, zig-zag, or some wound around a pencil and spiraled.
  • Wooly Worm Lengths recoding sheet (Participant pg. 13)
  • Foam ladybugs, worms or red beans
/
  • When students order their worms by length and begin to measure, facilitate their understanding of the need to straighten their worms to measure. Refer students to the story Ladybug on the Move and the need to straighten each path as we compared measures.
  • Students will tire of having to count units every time they measure. Ask them what would be any easier way to figure out the length measurement.
  • Wooly Worm recording sheet:

Measurement

Conceptual Understanding/Instructional Sequence

Step 1 Comparison

Step 2 Use of Units

Step 3 Use of Instruments

Measurement Kindergarten GLCE Connection

Measurement Key Ideas

(Pat Huellmantel)

  • Measurement belongs out of the textbooks and into the classroom, the school, and home environment.
  • The same-sized unit is repeated over and over.
  • The bigger the unit, the fewer the number in the measure.
  • The smaller the unit, the more in the measure.
  • Estimate first, then give practice in thinking about the unit as the unit is used over and over.
  • Build a ruler by repeating linear units, over and over.
  • Relate standard units to something the student knows, e.g., centimeter is about the same as the width of the little finger.
  • Treat metric and customary units as separate systems. Relations between units are important only within the same system.
  • Realizing the inefficiency of measuring with individual units, such as wooden cubes that are 1 centimeter, as opposed to connected units, such as a centimeter ruler.

M-GLAnCE-Kindergarten -Session 3-Measurement Attributes – Participant Packet

Page 1



M-GLAnCE-Kindergarten -Session 3-Measurement Attributes – Participant Packet

Page 1

Lady Bug Lengths

Use the ladybug beans to measure the length of each line. Under each line write about how many ladybug beans that you need.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Name______

Order your wooly worms from shortest to longest. Color each wooly worm picture to match the order.

Wooly Worm Lengths

Prediction

/ Actual

M-GLAnCE-Kindergarten -Session 3-Measurement Attributes – Participant Packet

Page 1

Resources

The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard, B.G. Hennessy (size)

Jim and the Beanstalk, Raymond Briggs

How Big Is a Foot?, Rolf Myller

Polly’s Pen Pal, Stuart Murphy (Metric measurement)

The Best Bug Parade, Stuart Murphy (Comparing size)

Inchworm and a Half, Elinor J. Pinczes (Fractions in measurement)

Inch by Inch, Leo Lionni (Linear measurement, inches)

A House for Birdie, Stuart Murphy (Lengths using vocabulary)

SuperSaturdaySandCastles, Stuart Murphy (Measuring in non-standard)

Ladybug on the Move, Richard Fowler (Measuring in non-standard)

Measuring Penny, Loreen Leedy (Standard and non-standard measurement)

Racing Around, Stuart Murphy (Perimeter)

Bigger, Better, Best, Stuart Murphy (Area)

M-GLAnCE- Kindergarten – Session 3-Measurement Attributes – Facilitator Packet

Page 1