Math Lesson Plan 2
Math Lesson Plan 2
LESSON RATIONALE
This lesson is important because as students interact with objects of varying sizes daily, it is necessary that
they understand how to identify and communicate their sizes, specifically length. Teaching measurement
using different units allows for students to both describe and compare this specific property of everyday,
physical objects. This provides meaning to what the children are learning, as they can apply the information
to the world around them.
READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goal(s) - Students will be able to measure the length of an object using centimeters, inches, and feet
while using a ruler as a tool.
B. Objective(s)
- At the end of this lesson, students will be able to measure varying items in centimeters,
inches, and feet.
- After finishing the activities, students will be able to compare the length of an object using
different units of measurement.
- Upon completing the activities, students will be able to identify the appropriate unit used in
measuring an object.
C. Standard(s):
- 2.M.3: Understand that the length of an object does not change regardless of the units used.
Measure the length of an object twice using length units of different lengths for the two
measurements. Describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.
B. Space:
- Anticipatory Set: Students will begin the lesson sitting at the carpet in their usual spots, creating a
circle that faces the teacher. During the search, students will be moving around the entire room.
This activity ends with the students back at the circle.
- Instruction: Students will continue to sit at the carpet as a large group until the activity where they
trace their feet, where they will move to their individual desks and work from there both
individually and as partners.
- Group Activity: Students will spend this time actively measuring both the lengths of the string on
the floor and other items around the room. They will be spread out around the room.
- Individual Activity: Students will spend this time first at their desks, then transition to measuring
different items around the room.
- Closure: Students will spend this time at their individual desks. Teacher will address the students
from the front whiteboard.
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C. Materials:
- 1 copy of Jack and The Beanstalk
- Green String
- Cut-out of castle in clouds
- Beans (at least 25 each)
- Rulers (21)
- Cut-out of Giant’s foot (at least 3)
- Cut-out of Jack’s foot (at least 8)
- Cut-out of Hen’s print (at least 15)
- Worksheet for instruction activity (21)
- Markers for tracing
- Document Camera
- Letter from Jack
- Large Pad (Giant’s letter, rolled and tied)
- Worksheet for independent activity (21)
- Paper cut into leaves (21)
- Tape
- 2 Golden Eggs
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- “What elements did you notice that made this story a fairytale?” (Allow time for response).
- Goose that laid golden eggs, beanstalk, magic beans, giant, singing harp
- “Who were some of the characters that were exceptionally fairytale-like?”
- Introduce Activity
- “Today, we are going to pretend like we are in the fairytale! While Jack was being chased, he, the
Giant, and the hen left a lot of footprints all around the room. When I instruct you to, find one
footprint that was left on the ground during the chase. Once you have found a footprint, come back
to the circle and find your seat.”
- Allow time for students to search for the three types of footprints.
- “Those who have a hen print, raise them in the air. Those that have Jack’s print, raise them in the
air. Those who have the Giant’s print, raise them in the air. What do we notice about the different
prints?”
- Target idea: They are different sizes.
- “Next, I want everyone with a giant's print to line it up along the string.”
- Allow time for action. Have the students with the other prints do the same thing. Remind students,
if necessary, that there should not be any gaps or overlaps and that the prints should go from each
end of the string.
IV. Purpose: “Today we are going to be practicing our measuring using different units, like with the three
different sized feet we have found. Measuring using different units is important so that you can know how
to find and communicate the exact size of an object.”
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- “Even though they were different, does that mean one measurement was necessarily wrong
over the other? No, because the units (giant foot, Jack’s foot, and hen’s foot) that we used
were different sizes! If I was going to measure the length of the room, which foot would you
recommend me use? Why? If I was going to measure a pencil, which print should I use? Why?
If I was going to measure a desk, which print should I use? Why?”
- Review of measuring with standard units (8 Minutes)
- “What if I wanted to find out exactly how long Jack’s foot was in inches. How could I do this?
Could someone show me, using a ruler, how this could be done?” (Allow time for response
and then have a volunteer come show the teacher and the class how they think they would
measure the foot. Record the length in inches. Make sure that the first tick is lined up with
the edge of the print. Ask a volunteer to tell the student how many inches the foot is).
- “Could anyone show me how to find the length of the hen’s print in inches?” (Allow time for a
volunteer to do the same. Record length).
- “What might make measuring the Giants foot in inches difficult? Is there a different tool we
could use besides a ruler to find the length of the Giants foot in inches?” (Yard stick)
- “Now, let’s find how many centimeters the different prints are.” (Follow the same procedure
with centimeters while tracking the numbers on the board).
- Practicing measuring in inches and centimeters (10 Minutes)
- “Now I am going to have you all go back to your seats and figure out how long your own foot
is in terms of inches and centimeters. As you place the piece of paper on your desk on the
ground, have your table partner help you trace the outline of your foot. This should take less
than a minute. After you have traced your foot, I want you to measure the distance from toe
to heel first using beans, like Jack’s magic beans. Once you have a number, record it in the
appropriate space in the sentence. Discuss with your neighbor how long your print is in
beans. After this, you should find your foot’s length in inches, and then lastly, in centimeters.
Work alongside your partner as you do this activity, comparing your measurements. Make
sure the spaces you put the measurements match with the units provided! I will be walking
around the room if you have any questions.”
- (After students have had time to work) “As you are recording the length of your feet, what
are you noticing between the inches and centimeters? Does it take more or less centimeters
than inches to measure your prints? Even though we all have different sized feet, the fact
that centimeters are a smaller unit is always true, meaning that it takes more centimeters to
measure a distance.”
- (Choose 3 volunteers to share their findings and track on the board) “Using this information,
how has the longest feet? Who has the shortest? How can you tell?”
- Introduction of feet (4 Minutes)
- “When we were measuring the hen and Jack’s print, we used a ruler because the prints were
shorter than the length of the ruler. With the Giant’s foot, we had to use a yardstick to find
the length because they were longer than the ruler. Does anyone have an idea to how we
could have found the length of the Giant’s print if all we had was a ruler?” (Allow students
response). “We could use our finger as a placeholder as we move the ruler, just like how we
originally stacked the stacked the prints to see how many we had. If you had only one of each
print, we could have used this strategy to figure out how long the string was.”
- “When we have the move our ruler multiple times, it can get confusing because we have to
remember how many times we are adding 12 for inches. Instead of doing this, we can know
that 12 inches is the same as one foot, another unit of measurement. A ruler is made up of 12
inches, meaning that a ruler is a good representation of one foot. As we just discovered in
our activity, all of our feet are different sizes. Would our own foot be a reliable unit of
measurement? No! A foot doesn’t mean any foot connected to our body. It’s important to
remember that one foot is equal to 12 inches.”
- Practice of measuring in feet (10 Minutes)
- The teacher will project a letter from Jack to the students using the document camera.
- Teacher will read the letter aloud while the students follow along on the board. After reading
the letter, begin to ask questions about the next steps.
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- “What is Jack asking us to find?” (Allow student response) “He wants us to help him discover
which beanstalk he should climb. First, we need to discover how long each beanstalk is. He
isn’t specific about what unit of measurement he wants us to use. It have taped our
beanstalks around the room. Take a look and ask yourself which unit of measurement you
would use to measure the beanstalks. What would make the most sense?” (Allow student
response). “Why would we measure in feet and not centimeters? As partners, measure the
length of each beanstalk using feet. Track your lengths on the back page of our past
worksheet. Make sure you visit each beanstalk to measure. Remember, one foot is 12 inches.
A ruler is 12 inches, so you are finding how many feet each beanstalk is. You will need to be
patient while each group spends time measuring. If you get done early, see if you and your
partner can find out around how many feet you each are.”(Allow time for students to work).
- When the students have finished, have them sit back at their desks. “Let’s look back at our
letter and see if we have answered Jack’s question. How many feet was the first string?
(Track on the board and continue to ask until all lengths are asked). Let’s say that Jack
needed the beanstalk he climbed to be at least 4 feet tall. Which beanstalk should he take?
Why? Why would the other beanstalks not work?”
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- “Before I look at the Giant’s answer for the original length of the egg, I want to see what you
all came up with. Raise your hand if you found an answer for how many inches the egg is.
How many centimeters was the egg?” (Allow time for response in between both questions).
“Let’s take a look and see if what we found was the original length.” (Reveal the answer to
the students in inches and centimeters). “What were some items that we found around the
room that were close to one foot, the size of the hen?”
- “Even though we found different measurements for the egg between centimeters and inches,
did that mean that the size of the egg changed? No! Just like earlier when we measured the
string using the different prints. Measuring with different units does not change the size of
the object you are measuring.”
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1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. Were the students able to understand my explanation of measuring centimeters and feet, or did
further teaching need to occur?
7. Were students able to successfully apply the rules of teaching to tangible objects in the room?
8. Were the students accurately able to identify appropriate uses of units as they related to
different-sized objects?
9. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
10. What are ways in which I could have made transitions flow smoother?
11. Were my modes of assessment adequate in understanding what the students learned?
12. In what ways could I have facilitated moments of exploration better
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(Letter from Jack)
Dear Students,
I feel horrible about stealing the harp and hen, so I have decided to return them to their owner,
the Giant. Thankfully, I have found extra magic beans in the pocket of my pants. Each bean has
grown a different stalk and I don’t know which one to climb. Can you help me measure each stalk
to help solve my problem?
Thank you so much for your help!
From,
Jack
(Letter from Giant - Written on a large pad in large font)
Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! There is a lot of measuring to be done!
Jack returned my harp and hen, but I don’t yet know if I can trust him.
Can you measure the length of my golden egg in centimeters and
inches so I can be sure it is real?
After this, find something in your classroom that is close to a foot -
that’s the size of my hen! Once you are done, I would love it if you
would draw me a picture of the item and write what you found in a
sentence.
Sincerely,
The Giant
P.S. My original length of my egg is on the back of this letter. Once
you have measured it yourself, check as a class to see if it’s the same
or not!
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(Partner Activity)
How Many Units Is Your Foot?
1. Trace one of your feet on the piece of paper given.
2. Measure your foot using the beans. Write your answer in the chart.
3. Measure your foot using a ruler. Find how long it is in both inches and
centimeters. Write your answers in the chart.
4. Fill in your answers in the sentences below. Correctly match the units.
5. Share your results with your partner. Answer the last question.
Beans Inches Centimeters
My foot is __________ beans long.
My foot is __________ inches long.
My foot is __________ centimeters long.
How long is your foot in inches?
_____________________________________________________
How long is your partner's foot in inches?
__________________________________________
Who has a longer foot, you or your partner?
_______________________________________
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Measuring Beanstalks
1. Measure how long each beanstalk/string is in feet. Record
what you have found in the given spaces below.
Beanstalk 1 is ___________________________ feet long.
Beanstalk 2 is ___________________________ feet long.
Beanstalk 3 is ___________________________ feet long.
Beanstalk 4 is ___________________________ feet long.
Which beanstalk is the longest? _____________________________
Which beanstalk is the shortest? ____________________________
2. When you have finished, find around how many feet your
partner is.
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(Independent Activity)
Measuring The Golden Egg
Letter from Giant:
Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! There is a lot of measuring to be done!
Jack returned my harp and hen, but I don’t yet know if I can trust him. Can you measure
the length of my golden egg in centimeters and inches so I can be sure it is real?
After this, find something in your classroom that is close to a foot - that’s the size of my
hen! Once you are done, I would love it if you would draw me a picture of the item and
write what you found in a sentence.
Sincerely,
The Giant
How many inches is the golden egg?
Length: ________________
Unit: _____________ _____
How many centimeters is the golden
egg?
Length: ____________________
Unit:_______________________
Object in room around one foot:
___________________________
Draw a picture of the
object you found:
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