This week we've been working on measurement concepts using nonstandard units of measurement. To begin the week and introduce the objective, I asked the students to get in groups, and then I gave each group a bag of five ribbons, asking them to put them in order from shortest to longest. I didn't give any other instructions, since I just wanted to see how students would complete this task. Most of the groups arranged their ribbons correctly from shortest to longest, but lined the ribbons up in the middle as opposed to the left or right sides.
While walking around and taking pictures, I found one group of students who correctly lined up the ribbons all on one edge. I did a little dance =) and then threw their picture up on the Promethean Board for the rest of the students to see. We discussed what this group was doing right and how they lined up their ribbons correctly on one side instead of in the middle. We then went back to the activity, and all groups remeasured their ribbons, being sure to line them up carefully on the left side. I gave the kiddos a recording sheet to color in what their ribbons looked like, in order from shortest to longest.
Once we had this concept down, we measured objects using paper clips and popsicle sticks. What a fun week! =)
