TITLE: Measuring with our bodies

CONTENT  AREAS (What areas of mathematics does this lesson cover?):   
 measurement

GRADE  LEVEL:    2^nd grade

MATERIALS   NEEDED:    data table

KEY   CONCEPTS:    unit of measurement, standard of measurement, measurement

EALR'S and GLE'S 

 EALR 1.2:  Understand and apply concepts and procedures from measurement.

2^nd Grade GLE’s 1.2.4 Understand and apply procedures to measure with non-standard or standard units. (We will learn procedures for measuring with non-standard units and will learn that certain units of measurement are appropriate for larger sizes and some for smaller sizes.  We will introduce the concept of standards units of measurement with a discussion)

LEARNING GOALS:

 Students will grasp how to measure something using a unit of measurement and students will have considered how units of measurement are standardized. 

PROCEDURES:   

• Introduction/Preassessment (Do some activity to see what your students know.)

How many of you have used a ruler?  How many of you know how to measure something?  How many of you have used parts of your body to measure something?

• Activity 

1) 5 minutes. As a group brainstorm different body parts that students can use to measure length.  Write student’s responses on the board and leave it up. [Activating Prior Knowledge]

2) 30 minutes.  Split students into small groups of three or four.  Pass out data collection sheets.  Students will follow instructions on the sheet.  They will measure each of the items on the sheet using a part of their body (hand, foot, finger width, arm, etc.)  They will figure out how to measure the items on the sheet using their bodies as units of measure.  They will record their unit of measure and the length that they measured.  [Disequilibration]

2a) [optional] 30 minutes.  Have each pair make a poster illustrating what they measured and how.

3) 5 minutes. The class will regroup and share their procedures and answers.

4) 15 minutes. The class will hold a discussion about what units of measurement are good for measuring bigger lengths and smaller lengths.  Discussion Questions: Why did your group choose the body parts that it did as units of measuremtn?  How did you deal with fractional measurement?  What other suggestions were made and rejected?  How many groups chose the same method?  What are some of the problems with using the units of measurement that you used? [Elaboration]

5) 15 minutes: Math history lesson.  We will learn about how the standard units of measurement that we use today were developed from body parts units of measurement.  We will note where different measurements came from around the world.  What does this imply?  We will also note that these measurements are based on male-bodied people.  What does this imply?  [Elaboration]

• Closure

10 minutes. Write in our math journals about why standard units of measurement were developed.

Glimpse of tomorrow’s lesson: standardized units of measurement.

Accomodation Plan:  

1.race/ethnicity: The math history lesson will represent measurements from all around the world, highlighting nonwestern contributions to mathematics.

2.language: If there are ELL’s in the classroom they can use the body part measurements in their home language.  Translations of the instructions into students’ home languages need to be on all math worksheets.  Make sure that the students alternate who measures and who records so that each member of the pair is involved in the measuring activity.

3.gender: The math history lesson will address the fact that the measurement standards are based on the male body but that this isn’t fair because women need to measure things just as much as men do.  [Should this discussion be included?  Is this appropriate?]

TITLE: Measuring with our bodies

CONTENT  AREAS (What areas of mathematics does this lesson cover?):   
 measurement

GRADE  LEVEL:    2^nd grade

MATERIALS   NEEDED:    data table

KEY   CONCEPTS:    unit of measurement, standard of measurement, measurement

EALR'S and GLE'S 

 EALR 1.2:  Understand and apply concepts and procedures from measurement.

2^nd Grade GLE’s 1.2.4 Understand and apply procedures to measure with non-standard or standard units. (We will learn procedures for measuring with non-standard units and will learn that certain units of measurement are appropriate for larger sizes and some for smaller sizes.  We will introduce the concept of standards units of measurement with a discussion)

LEARNING GOALS:

 Students will grasp how to measure something using a unit of measurement and students will have considered how units of measurement are standardized. 

PROCEDURES:   

• Introduction/Preassessment (Do some activity to see what your students know.)

How many of you have used a ruler?  How many of you know how to measure something?  How many of you have used parts of your body to measure something?

• Activity 

1) 2 minutes. As a group brainstorm different body parts that students can use to measure length.  Write student’s responses on the board and leave it up. [Activating Prior Knowledge]

2) 5 minutes.  Split students into small groups of three or four.  Pass out data collection sheets and assign item to measure to each group.  Students will follow instructions on the sheet.  They will measure one of the items on the sheet using a part of their body (hand, foot, finger width, arm, etc.)  They will figure out how to measure the items on the sheet using their bodies as units of measure.  They will record their unit of measure and the length that they measured.  [Disequilibration]

3) 3 minutes. The class will regroup and share their procedures and answers.  The class will hold a discussion about what units of measurement are good for measuring bigger lengths and smaller lengths.  Discussion Questions: Why did your group choose the body parts that it did as units of measuremtn?  How did you deal with fractional measurement?  What other suggestions were made and rejected?  How many groups chose the same method?  What are some of the problems with using the units of measurement that you used? [Elaboration]

5) 5 minutes: Math history lesson.  We will learn about how the standard units of measurement that we use today were developed from body parts units of measurement.  We will note where different measurements came from around the world.  What does this imply?  We will also note that these measurements are based on male-bodied people.  What does this imply?  [Elaboration]

• Closure

Announcement of journal activity and glimpse of tomorrow’s lesson: standardized units of measurement.

Accomodation Plan:  

1.race/ethnicity: The math history lesson will represent measurements from all around the world, highlighting nonwestern contributions to mathematics.

2.language: There are no ELL’s in our class, but if there were, they could use the body part measurements in their home language.  Translations of the instructions into students’ home languages would need to be on all math worksheets.  We would need to make sure that the students are assigned roles so that the ELL’s are not excluded from participation.

3.gender: The math history lesson will address the fact that the measurement standards are based on the male body but that this isn’t fair because women need to measure things just as much as men do.  [Should this discussion be included?  Is this appropriate?]