Lesson Topic: Length Measurement Grade(s): 1st

Instructional Materials: Everyday Math Unit 4 Lesson 1 - Adapted

Learning Targets/Goal(s)
Children discuss length as a measurable attribute and compare the lengths of objects directly
using a nonstandard unit of measurement (paperclip).

Common Core State Standards

· Content: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.2 - Express the length of an object as a whole number
of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end;
understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units
that span it with no gaps or overlaps. Limit to contexts where the object being measured is
spanned by a whole number of length units with no gaps or overlaps.

·Practice(s): CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving

them.

Materials:
5 plastic baggies containing: 1 marker, 1 pencil, 1 popsicle stick, 1 crayon, 1 piece of string, and
1 straw

Measurements of Objects Key:

- Marker: 3
- Pencil: 4
- Crayon: 2
- Piece of string: 6
- Popsicle Stick: 3

Suggested Norms: Group work should be respectful, on task, and showing teamwork by
sharing objects and working together to complete task. You should respect the materials and
your group member’s ideas. Every voice should be heard. We should keep voice level in
between a whisper and a normal talk level.

Groups and Suggested Roles: Groups of 4 with roles (5 total groups, 1 with 5 people)
Facilitator: gathers materials, starts discussion
Recorder: writes names, draws objects in order on handout
Responder: shares out in whole group their group’s ideas and reasoning
Coordinator: puts away materials, reminds students of expectations
 Academic, Social and Linguistic Support
Teacher will assign student groups based on levels of students and children who will work
best together. The teacher will check in with IEP students and those who need additional
support and redirection more often during the task.

Projects
· Group Product: They will record on a handout, the length of each object they measured based
on the given unit (paperclips).

· Individual Product: N/A

SEQUENCE OF LESSON ACTIVITIES
LAUNCH/BEFORE PART (per Van de Walle): (5 minutes)
“Good morning mathematicians! Today we are going to be exploring measurement!”

“How many of you have seen your mom or dad use a tape measure or ruler to measure
something?”

Teacher will show students the baggie of objects and explain measurement.

“I have this baggie of objects and I need your help today finding out what the longest and
shortest object is in this baggie. As mathematicians your job is to work together as a group to
find out the length of each object in this baggie.”

Teacher will model measuring a pencil using paperclips as the unit of measure. Teacher will
model drawing a ‘quick sketch’ by placing her pencil on the handout and marking where each
end of the pencil falls on the paper and then writing the number of paper clips she used to
measure the length of the pencil from end to end.
EXPLORE/DURING PART (according to Van de Walle): (20 minutes)
Students will take each object from the baggie and measure the length of them using paper
clips. To do this they will mark each end of the object (quick sketch which we will model) on
their sheet and measure the total space between the two lines with paper clips. Once they have
determined the length of the object they will write (either on a pre-made sheet or on the sheet
they did their quick sketch on) how long the object is using the paperclip unit (“the marker is 5
big paper clips long”).

To help students understand that in order to get an accurate measurement, you have to start
at one end of the object and go all the way to the other end. Teacher can prompt students
thinking about this asking, “Can I start measuring the pencil from here? (placing paperclip in
the middle and going to the end)”

The teacher will make sure the students are engaged by circulating around the room to work
 with all the groups at least once. This will allow for the teacher to ask questions, scaffold, and
assess which students understand measurement and which do not.

If a group finishes early, we will give them a smaller paperclip to measure the objects. This will
allow for those students to see how the unit you measure with is important and can change the
answer you get.

DISCUSS/SUMMARIZE/AFTER (per Van de Walle) (5 minutes)

Teacher will call students up to the front of the class to show their work, displaying different
strategies. The teacher will be watching for common measurement misconceptions like gaps
and overlapping to address those issues whole class and allowing the students to share their
ideas/strategies.
The teacher will look at the key from her measurements to gage the accuracy of the student
responses.

Questions:
1. What object was the longest? How do you know? Why does that answer make sense?
Did anyone get a different answer?
2. What object was the shortest? How do you know? Why does that answer make sense?
Did anyone get a different answer?
3. Where did you start and end measuring your object? Can someone come up and show
me on this quick sketch on the board?
a. Misconceptions: Gaps, Overlapping, etc
4. What did you learn about measurement that you didn’t know before?