Making 3-D Shapes
I meant to post these pictures a while ago, but I forgot. We had so much fun making various 3-D shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks. We made shapes out of play-do another day, but I never took pictures. Sorry about that!
I meant to post these pictures a while ago, but I forgot. We had so much fun making various 3-D shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks. We made shapes out of play-do another day, but I never took pictures. Sorry about that!
Measuring Beds for King Clifford
To kick off our unit on measurement, we read a book called How Big is a Foot? This story involves a wealthy king who decided to give a bed to his wife, the queen, for her birthday. At this time, beds had never been invented yet, so nobody really knew how long a bed needed to be. The king decided to measure the queen with his feet, and figured out that the bed needed to be 6 feet long and 3 feet wide to fit the queen. He hired an apprentice to make the bed for the queen, and he made this super tiny bed because he had such little feet. He was thrown into jail, and while he was imprisoned, he thought about what went wrong. He realized the king's feet were much bigger than his little feet. If he knew how long the king's foot was, he would be able to make the right-sized bed. After getting a marble copy of the king's foot, he succeeded in making a bed that fit the queen.
After reading this book, I gave the students a task. In groups of 5, students were to make a bed big enough for my "husband", King Clifford, to lie. The only challenge was, we could not move him from his throne. I measured Clifford with my feet...6 feet long and 5 feet wide. My students' first attempt at making the beds was pretty comical. The beds were extremely small! Even after hearing this book, many students were measuring with their little feet. They also tried to measure Clifford using their bodies...which I thought was pretty creative. Several students used the model on the board to measure to. It was pretty cute. Needless to say, every single bed was much too small to fit King Clifford. Here are the pictures from the first attempt.
To kick off our unit on measurement, we read a book called How Big is a Foot? This story involves a wealthy king who decided to give a bed to his wife, the queen, for her birthday. At this time, beds had never been invented yet, so nobody really knew how long a bed needed to be. The king decided to measure the queen with his feet, and figured out that the bed needed to be 6 feet long and 3 feet wide to fit the queen. He hired an apprentice to make the bed for the queen, and he made this super tiny bed because he had such little feet. He was thrown into jail, and while he was imprisoned, he thought about what went wrong. He realized the king's feet were much bigger than his little feet. If he knew how long the king's foot was, he would be able to make the right-sized bed. After getting a marble copy of the king's foot, he succeeded in making a bed that fit the queen.
After reading this book, I gave the students a task. In groups of 5, students were to make a bed big enough for my "husband", King Clifford, to lie. The only challenge was, we could not move him from his throne. I measured Clifford with my feet...6 feet long and 5 feet wide. My students' first attempt at making the beds was pretty comical. The beds were extremely small! Even after hearing this book, many students were measuring with their little feet. They also tried to measure Clifford using their bodies...which I thought was pretty creative. Several students used the model on the board to measure to. It was pretty cute. Needless to say, every single bed was much too small to fit King Clifford. Here are the pictures from the first attempt.
After testing out each bed and realizing their mistakes, students were asked the question, "What went wrong?" Right away, students knew that they needed a copy of my foot to be successful. I told them that we would try this out again the following day with a copy of my foot.
And the results came in!! Each group was successful in making a bed big enough to fit my dear King Clifford. They were so proud of themselves!! Here are the pictures from that successful day.
And the results came in!! Each group was successful in making a bed big enough to fit my dear King Clifford. They were so proud of themselves!! Here are the pictures from that successful day.
This activity was not only fun, but it was extremely educational. Students learned how to cooperate and work together. They also discovered how important it is to have a consistent unit of measurement. Given only one copy of my foot, students had to learn how to keep track of the foot's place as they measured how long and wide the beds needed to be.
Throughout the rest of the unit, students will learn about standard and nonstandard units of measurement, as well as comparison words (longer, shorter, taller, wider, etc.). They will also learn various techniques in how to measure different items. Students will understand how to select efficient units of measurement. For example, when measuring how long our room is, students will decide which unit of measurement is most efficient to use: a penny or a long pointer stick.
Throughout the rest of the unit, students will learn about standard and nonstandard units of measurement, as well as comparison words (longer, shorter, taller, wider, etc.). They will also learn various techniques in how to measure different items. Students will understand how to select efficient units of measurement. For example, when measuring how long our room is, students will decide which unit of measurement is most efficient to use: a penny or a long pointer stick.