making measurement meaningful measurement is a comparison of an attribute of an item or situation...
TRANSCRIPT
Making Measurement Meaningful
Measurement is a comparison of an attribute of an item or situation with a unit that has the same attribute.
Meaningful measurement and estimation of measurements depends on personal familiarity with the unit of measure being used.
Bucket
Ball
Around the house
Length Mass or weight Capacity Area Volume Time Temperature Angles
Students must understand the attribute they are going to measure
Students must understand what a unit of measure is and how it is used to produce a measurement
Students must understand the devices used to measure the attribute
Linker Cubes Linker Chains Drinking straws Paper clips Giant footprints Body comparisons:
HandDigit Height
Make it easier to focus directly on the attribute being measured.
Make a good case for why standardization is important.
Fun!
Informal measurement gives the student an opportunity to understand the attribute being measured before
introducing the standard measurement.
Estimation of measures and personal benchmarks for frequently used units help students increase their familiarity with unitsprevent errors in measurementsaid in the meaningful use of measurement
Helps students focus on the attribute being measured and the measuring process
Provides intrinsic motivation to measurement activities
Helps develop familiarity with the unit of measure
Emphasizes the use of approximate language, including “about” the measure of …
Helps clarify “precision” of error – the most precise we can ever be is half the measured unit of measure
Find 5 items that are about the measure of 5 linker chains
Find 5 items that are about the measure of a foot
Don’t always start from the edge“Zero” on rulers vary
Use a broken ruler Measure items smaller than the ruler Measure items longer than the ruler
Length of a paper clip
Length of the middle digit of your little finger
About
an inch
12 inches
A little more that the height of a piece of paper
Adult foot
3 feet 36 inches
Height of a small child
5280 feet
Distance traveled Distance between Black Bob Rd. and
Mur-Len Distance between Black Bob Rd. and
Pflumm Distance between 127th St. and 135th St. Distance between 119th St. and 127th St.
Thickness of a dime
Thickness of the lead in your pencil
10 millimeters
Width of your little finger nail
Width of a paper clip
100 millimeters 10 centimeters
Length of a crayon Height of a soup can Small pocket comb Cell phone
Height of a door knob
Child Baseball bat Golf Club
10 meters
Length of a classroom
½ of a tennis court
Small school bus
100 meters
Football field plus one end zone
A little more than a half mile (.6 of a mile)
Long distancesDriving distances
Marathons – 42 Kilometers (26 miles)
Customary – 10 yards Metric – 10 meters = 1 dekameter
Which team will reach their mark first? Cooperative Learning Groups
#1 Recorder: Select and read the card. Make an estimate of the item to be measured.
#2 Coach: Select and locate the right measurement tool to use. Explain the markings on measurement tool.
#3 Athlete: Measure the item. Get a confirmation from team members that the measurement is accurate.
#4 Equipment manager: Locate the item to measure, explain how it is used. When finished, return the item.
8 ounces
Cup of milk Milk at lunch
16 ounces 2 cups
Fountain drink
32 ounces 4 cups 2 pints
Small Milk container Egg Nog
Quart of oil
128 ounces
Milk
Pitcher
GQPPcc cc
QPPcc cc QPPcc cc
QPPcc cc
The BIG“G”
4th and 5th Grade
20 drops of water
Eye dropper
Small amounts of medicine
10 milliliters = 1 cubic centimeter
Teaspoon of medicine
Very small perfume bottle
Small bottle of fingernail polish bottle
100 milliliters 10 centiliters
Tea cup
1000 milliliters 100 centiliters 10 deciliters
A little more than a quart
2 liter pop bottle
10 liters
Fish tank
Large punch bowl
1000 liters
Tank of gas
Small child’s wading pool
Piece of paper taped the short way into a cylinder
Piece of paper taped the long way into a cylinder
Weight of a letter taking one stamp
16 ounces
Baked potato Can of vegetables Box of pasta Large bag of marshmallows
Bag of sugar or flour
2000 pounds
Small Car
1/1000 of a gram
Mass of a bee’s wing
Paper clip
Note: A penny weighs approximately 2.5 - 3 grams.
1000 grams
Textbook
5 bananas
A little over 2 pounds
Line up the 5 items in order from smallest capacity to largest capacity.EstimateLine up the itemsCheck on the label
Line up the 5 items in order from lightest weight to heaviest.EstimateLine up the itemsCheck on the label
Kilometer Hectometer Dekameter Meter – Basic UNIT Decimeter Centimeter Millimeter
Measurement of covering Don’t use formulas, allow the students
to create the rulesUse informal – How many deck of cards will
fit onto a piece of paper?Formal – How many 1” color tiles does it
take to fill the piece of paper?
Amount of space inside an objectCubic units
Use wooden cubes to find fill containers.
Gallon – 128 ounces, milk jug, 4 quarts Quart – 32 ounces, eggnog, quart of
milk Pint – 16 ounces, medium fountain drink Cup – 8 ounces, milk container at lunch
Kilometer – a little over ½ mile (6/10 of a mile)
Hectometer – football field + one end zone
Dekameter – length of a small school bus, width of your bedroom
Meter – height of a door knob, baseball bat, a little more than a yard
Decimeter – height of a soup can, width of your hand, length of a crayon
Centimeter – width of your little fingernail, width of a paper clip
Millimeter – thickness of a dime
Kiloliter – child’s wading pool of water – metric ton
Hectoliter – car’s gas tank Dekaliter – large punch bowl, fish bowl Liter – a gulp more than a quart Deciliter – tea cup Centiliter – teaspoon of liquid medicine Milliliter – 20 drops of water
Kilogram – textbook, 5 bananas, a little over 2 pounds (2.2 lbs.)
Gram – mass of a paperclip
Milligram – mass of a butterfly’s wing
Link learning of measurement by having the students measure items at homeMeasurement Line-upsCooking and BakingScale drawings of rooms which would
include measurements Informal – measure the length and width of
their room by stepping it off.Build a ramp (skateboard or handicap)
Throughout the school – make measurement a focus. Points of reference A daily question with the answer given at the end
of the day. How far is it from our the office to the playground? Estimate the weight of a fire truck. How much does one gallon of water weigh? How long is your principal? – Estimate, then measure. How cold is it in Hawaii today? What is the difference
between our temperature and Hawaii’s temperature? Metric Units and conversion The Big “G” and “Gallon Guy” The temperature of the day in Olathe
The more the students measure, the better they get at estimating and measuring!
Experience measurement by measuring!