Solids & Liquids
Addendum to the Written Curriculum: Measuring Solids
Students will use standard rulers to measure the length of common classroom items - such as pencils, books, desk tops - in inches and centimeters, and measure weight in pounds.
3. Lesson set up and Management
- PC01 1.1.1 Use properties to sort natural and manufactured materials and objects, for example size, weight, shape, color, texture, and hardness.
- PC02 1.1.4 Observe and examine physical properties of earth materials such as rocks and soil, water (as liquid, solid, and vapor) and the gases of the atmosphere.
- IP03 2.1.3 Use data to construct reasonable explanation.
- IP05 2.1.5 Record and report observations, explanations, and conclusions using oral and written expression.
- IP07 2.2.2 Design and test a solution to a problem.
- The length of a solid can be measured in inches, centimeters, feet, and other units.
- The weight of a solid can be measured in pounds and other units.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
Have rulers and yardsticks with both English and metric increments. Also have a bathroom scale with pound increments; if possible, also have a smaller scale for weighing lighter objects such as pencils. Use a wide variety of small and large classroom objects to measure, and either develop a short chart for students to record their measurements, or work with the class to help students develop a data chart in their science journals.
Student Management:
This activity is best done in small groups with a parent volunteer to guide and check the correct use of rulers when measuring.
A group lesson on the use of a ruler is helpful before beginning. Identifying which side of the ruler measures in inches and centimeters is necessary before starting.
I use this investigation as an opportunity to introduce students to measuring with standard measurement tools. Have students measure desks, math books, pencils, and other classroom objects in inches, feet and centimeters. Have students measure each other's height. Weigh a solid classroom object on a bathroom scale. Weigh students on the scale. Weight is measured in pounds.
Discuss with students what it is that they are measuring. What does it tell you if one object is 8 inches and another object is 34 inches? What does it tell you if one object is 3 pounds and another object is 40 pounds? Encourage students to notice that these measurements allow them to compare properties of objects.
It may or may not be developmentally appropriate to point out the difference between physical properties of the objects students are measuring and chemical properties of the solid materials of which the objects are made. You may want to encourage students to notice simple differences in these two types of properties. For example, with three different-length standard yellow pencils, encourage students to notice that, while the length measurements are different, the pencils are still the same "type" of solid. Ask students to name properties that describe a pencil in general (lead/graphite in the center, wood on the outside, stiff, long) and properties that describe a particular pencil (length, sharpness, bite marks from chewing).
Writing Support:
Teaching students to answer math questions, such as "How long is the front of the desk?" or "How much does the math book weigh?", in complete sentences is a great beginning foundation for using writing in Math.
Math:
This meets the Math EALR of measuring with non-standard and standard measurements.
Vocabulary:
Inches
Feet
Centimeters
Pounds