Measurement Match It!

One of the the most powerful techniques to use in teaching is student prior knowledge through discourse and facilitation of learning. Below is a mini-lesson that can be facilitated by 4th grade teachers to introduce the following Student Expectation.

"Identify relative sizes of measurement units within the customary and metric systems." 4.8A

First lets look at the implication of the SE's verb.

Identify: this suggests that students simply need a point of reference to select from as it pertains to length, mass and volume.

Now, this SE is one that supports a readiness expectation wherein students must be able to solve problems in measurement that deal with conversion. In order to convert, however, students have to have a point of reference to help them know whether they are converting a larger unit into a smaller one and vice versa!

Materials: sentence strips, pictures of real life items, chart paper per group, markers per group

Facilitation Procedures:

1. With your students sitting in cooperative groups, distribute a sentence strip paper representing a source of measurement (length, mass, volume (in the customary or metric system) and a series of pictures that relate to each unit within that system. Give each group a different strip.

2. Have groups talk about which pictures match with which units. Encourage students to justify their answers with each other.

3. Once groups have matched each picture with its unit, have students record on their chart paper their reason for each match (with their marker).

4. Allow groups to get up, and rotate to another groups' table and analyze/critique their answers. Using a marker of a different color, encourage the group to either add their own justifications or change that groups answers and justify why.

5. Continue this rotation until all groups have visited each table and had a chance to discuss, analzye and prove (adjust) each of the systems of measurement.

The pictures for this activity can be found on the following website/blog site:

"Measurement Charts" are the freebies she provides!

This mini-lesson activity is great right before allowing students to break into their stations or centers and at your small group table it would be beneficial to help students underand this concept futher by facilitating deeper discussions and providing hands on exeriences like the following:

"Would the mass of a penny be best described as 4mg, 2.5mg or 0.5mg?" Then allowing students to measure (hands-on) that penny and justify why.

This type of exposure can be powerful in a station as well.