Teacher Commentary Measuring Success Lawton Elementary, Philadelphia SLC: MAGIC Teachers: Roberta Devine, Gloria Lewis, Rosemary McCaw, Joy Michaelchuck School Phone: 215-335-5659

Unit of Study Summary This Unit of Study provided a variety of activity-based lessons which allowed children to learn the skills they need to understand and make measurements. Using mathematics-based literature and manipulatives, the children demonstrated their understanding of measurement through hands-on tasks and writing. The unit began with a problem to assess children's prior knowledge about measurement and a story, read aloud by the teacher. After reading and discussing the story, the children were asked to choose things they could use to measure objects in the classroom. Before measuring the objects the children estimated the length of the objects in the unit they had chosen. The estimation and actual measurement were compared. The importance of everyone using a unit of measurement that will not change size and everyone can understand was discussed.Additionally, several books on measurement were placed in the book basket for children to read during Self Selected Reading. Children were also asked to interview their parents to find out how they use measurements in their jobs. A list of jobs in which workers need to use measurements was compiled and displayed in the classroom. The children worked in small groups, pairs, and individually to collect the data they needed to make a graph and write a shoe story; to show the value of a handful of coins; to create a picture of an object using quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies and to find out if they were a square. The completed tasks were assessed using Houghton Mifflin's Generic Mathematics Rubric for Grade 2. The components of the work include measurement, collecting and recording data, comparing data through graphic representation, writing in math clearly and concisely as well as managing the data. What should students know and be able to do? School District of Philadelphia Standards: Mathematics Standard #2: Measurement-Solve problems in which there is a need to measure accurately by selecting and using appropriate tools, techniques, and units; apply the results and communicate the reasoning used in solving these problems. What were students asked to do? Students were asked to listen to How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller to find out how using a foot as a measuring tool might create problems. Students were given an opportunity to discuss why the bed was too small. Volunteers were asked to pace off the length of the classroom in feet. Then the students explained why the measurements were different. On drawing paper, each student was asked to trace around his/her shoe and cut it out. First, students estimated the length of their shoe tracings. Next, they measured the length of their shoe tracings to the nearest inch. Then they measured a shoe from each of seven friends and recorded their shoe measurements on a graph. After recording the data on a graph, the students wrote a Shoe Story. To further develop measurement skill, make comparisons, and develop estimation skills the students were asked to measure the length of various objects in the classroom with their own feet and also with the ruler, so that they could compare their feet to the king's foot. After each measurement, they recorded their measurements and made estimates about how many of the king's feet it would take to cover the same distance. Finally, they wrote The King's Foot Story. What story does the work tell? The sample of student work was assessed using Houghton Mifflin's Generic Mathematics Rubric. This measurement task analysis resulted in a score of "4" on the rubric because the student's responses showed complete understanding of the investigation, addressed all components, reached a valid conclusion, and communicated clearly through writing. 1. The student has the ability to collect and organize the data. She ordered the measurement results correctly. She also knew that the data for the Shoe Story could be displayed on a bar graph and constructed a bar graph to display the measurement results. 2. The student displayed the measurement results on a teacher prepared grid and demonstrated the ability to count on from three inches accurately to show the length of each of her friend's foot. 3. The student's explanation of how she collected the data for the Shoe Story is clear and shows complete understanding of the task. Spelling and punctuation errors did not interfere with understanding her explanation. 4. The student indicated that she learned how the ruler was invented but did not include that information in her story. 5. The student identified the tool used to make the measurements. 6. In the King's Foot activity, the student showed number sense, used prior knowledge about estimation and made reasonable estimations when asked to estimate the length of an object in the King's Foot. When the student compared her foot with the king's foot, she used the data she had collected to conclude that it would take fewer of the king's feet to measure the length of an object than it would of her feet. 7. The student was able to communicate her mathematical thinking and is confident that she can now measure anything. How can your analysis guide further instruction? The student is a second grader. This task provided an opportunity for the student to use what she learned about graphs from previous lessons/experiences. I had given no formal instruction in linear measurement prior to this unit of study, but the student was eager to begin the task and remained engaged throughout the activity. The results of this measurement task is evidence that she needs creative/open-ended problems to work on and more opportunities to do her own organizing of information. An extension of this activity, for this student, might be a mini - lesson in perimeter and have her figure out the perimeter of the bed in How Big Is a Foot? or objects in the classroom. The rubric assessed the student's mathematical understanding without assessing the student's writing ability. The next time I might take time to develop a task specific rubric for the activities in this unit of study.

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