Measurement Strand
7:13 AM
This
week was an online class where we talked about Measurement! Out of all the
strands, measurement was always the least stressful for me. I enjoyed it the
most because I could visualize using this concept most in real life and the
activities my teachers presented with their lessons were very kinesthetic.
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| Retrieved from Flickr |
For
our setting the stage activity, she gave us a great resource called Math
Scavenger Hunt. Students are given a sheet when objects that they must find
outside. After they find the object they are to use that item and solve a small
math problem assigned to it. They are given points based on difficulty. I love
this resource because it gets students up and moving applying math skills they
have learned in the class to real world situations.
Rebecca
mentioned in her online presentation that there are 3 stages of teaching
measurement.
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| Picture taken by me. |
The
first is Definition/Comparison. Students learn to compare two things or objects
to figure out which one has a bigger measurement. They can do this by
investigating, experimenting or even estimating.
The
second stage is Nonstandard units. Students learn to define measurement using
cubes, scoops and objects of that nature.
The
third stage is using standard units where we explore centimetres, grams, meters
etc.
A
tip Rebecca gave us was to never assume that students know how to measure
things with a ruler or protractor for example. Go in with the assumption that
students are working with a blank slate. I can remember working with a
protractor where my teacher assumed that we didn’t have to have an in depth
introduction to them because we should already know how to use them. What
confused me most was how there was two sets of numbers and I could never
understand which ones to use because no one took the time to sit down with me
and explain the difference of why there is two sets of numbers and when to use
which which is probably why I always looked like this:
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| Retrieved from Giphy |
A
great tip Rebecca suggests is that we first should look at the angle and
determine from looking at it whether we should be using the smaller numbers or
the larger numbers on the protractor and work from there. It helps ease student
anxiety and creates a safe space where they can ask questions and understand
the concept of the tool.
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| Retieved from Flickr |
I
also got the opportunity to help Kursten and Casey with their learning activity
presentations this week. Since this was an online class, the girls had to tape
their presentations and some of us got to participate in the activity for them.
The
two presentations were very well done.
Casey covered a grade ¾ class and taught
us about area and square centimeters. We were given a piece of centimeter and
grid paper and were asked to trace our hands. Casey asked us to predict how
many square centimeters our hands would be and then compare the two pieces of
grid paper once we determined how many squares our hands took up.
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| Taken by me |
For
Kursten's presentation she covered a 4/5 class and talked about measuring area.
We were asked to find five objects either square or rectangular in a magazine
and cut them out for our activity. After we had found our objects we were given
a ruler and asked to measure the pictures and order them from smallest to
biggest once we found their measurements. One thing I would have suggested was to not
assume all students know how to use a ruler. I know it sounds silly but after
Rebecca’s comment on her own presentation students might need a tiny refresher
on how to use a ruler and what to look at when they are measuring.
All
in all they were great presentations and I learned a lot!
I didn't get a chance to do the readings this week but I did read an article that Rebecca posted in her presentation which was very interesting. It touched on Assessment As, For & Of learning for the different math strands .This informative resource is something I will definitely have in my classroom as it is beneficial for me to pull questions from to help guide my students, and my students can see the learning goals and success criteria that they need to accomplish for each strand to help keep them on track. If you would like to see the info graphic, you can view it here.
I am feeling more confident with teaching math, but I am getting a little sad knowing that our class will be ending shortly! It's been such a great experience learning and having fun at the same time!
I am feeling more confident with teaching math, but I am getting a little sad knowing that our class will be ending shortly! It's been such a great experience learning and having fun at the same time!
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