Time for Measurement!!!

          On your mark, get set, and time to measure...It's the Session 9 Measurement Olympics!!!

via GIPHY

This week by far has been my favourite week of activities. Over the years, one of my favourite units in math is measurement; partially because I had little difficulty understanding the concepts of the unit. This week, the teacher candidates had the pleasure of exploring various hands-on activities involving the unit of measurement. As you read further on in this post, I will further discuss the engaging and interactive activities that educators can use to help students understand measurement concepts. 

          One way in which to get students excited about a new topic or concept is through the use of media. Whether it be an infographic or video, students will become engaged with visual; and prepared to learn more about the concept. Therefore, this is exactly how we started our lesson. Our instructor chose to display a kid-friendly video on measurement using a TV show "Sesame Street." The video allows students to be introduced to measurement terms and concepts before the commencement of the unit. 

          Firstly, the class got to explore an interesting activity named "Area Dice." This is an interactive game where students are able to practice plotting points on a cartesian plane; as well as practicing the concept of area. Students work in pairs and are given one sheet of paper with boxes; a piece of graph paper if the teacher chooses. The students are responsible of rolling the die twice in order to attain the measurements for the length and width for the area. Once this is completed, the student will shade in the appropriate area. The goal of the game is to shade in as much area as possible on the sheet. This activity is a great way for students to interactively practice getting familiar with area. Shading in the area will help students to visualize what consists of length and area. In sum, the "Area Dice" game provides students with an outlet to practice and develop their skills in the concept. 

Pagliaro, T. © 2016.

          After this intriguing activity, we played, what I think, is the most interactive activity yet. This activity involved incorporating the aspect of the olympic games and the math concept of measurement. Each student would be put into a group with at least 4 other members. Each group receives a paper indicating the 5+ stations, or "games," that each member of the group will be able to participate in. The students as a group work together to make an estimate of the measurement, followed by checking the actual length of the measurement. This game promotes the development of collaborative working skills; while helping to improve the retention of measurement concepts. I really enjoyed this activity as an engaging lesson for students. Working collaboratively will help students learn measurement concepts while applying them to real situations. Below is an image of the worksheet of the various stations that can be given to students:

Pagliaro, T. © 2016.

          In my opinion, I felt that this week was the most intriguing week yet. Using the concept of olympic games would make learning the unit of measurement engaging to students. In future classes, I can see myself using this activity since it is a great way to create an active learning environment for students.