Inchworm, Inchworm...Measuring the Marigolds? Snow?

Today we're mostly measuring SNOW...a first for my little guy, home from China less than two years. But we also took a little time to measure with INCHWORMS.

We began by using the free lesson, "Making Inchworm Rulers" from "D2 Measurement: Length in U.S. Customary Units" found here. The lesson asked us to look at a ruler and identify what we knew about it. We then read a little bit about "inchworms," also included with the lesson. I couldn't resist taking a few moments to watch the classic Sesame Street version of the song, Inchworm. Then we listened and sung along with a class. (Wouldn't it be fun to do a puppet show for that song??)

My guys then made inchworm rulers (see lesson...note that you need to be careful in how your copy machine automatically reduces...I had to increase the % to get the inchworms the right size...a math lesson in and of itself!) We read Inchworm and a Half, which was a good extension for my 8yo who is interested in fractions. Then we read Inch by Inch and measured each animal using our inchworm rulers just as the inchworm in the book measured. Lastly, we are using the "Inchworm Ruler Record Sheet" (pdf included) to discover things around the house that are shorter than 1 foot, exactly 1 foot, and longer than 1 foot.

At the moment, they're back outside, measuring snow. :)

Head Strings: Measuring with String & Tile

We continued our lessons on measurement. The boys enjoyed Inch by Inch, in which an inchworm measures a variety of birds (a flamingo's neck, a toucan's beak, a heron's leg...) only to be told by a nightingale, "Measure my song or I'll eat you for breakfast." The inchworm "measures," moving farther and farther away as the bird sings, eventually inching out of sight.

We then continued a little measurement of our own...

Following the free Math Learning Center lesson**, "Head Strings," I measured the circumference of my head with a piece of yard, lay it on the floor, put 5 colored tiles next to it,  and asked my son to estimate how many tiles would be needed for the total length. He guessed 25 by looking at the first group of tile and explaining it would probably take 5 of those to finish the string. I put tile along about half the string and asked if he wanted to revise his estimate. With 11 tile now along the string, he changed his estimate to 22. He measured the string with tile, finding that it took 23.

 I removed the tile and placed a book next to the string, asking him to use what he knew about the string to estimate the length of the book. He estimated and measured, coming within one tile. I gave him a copy of "Head String Record Sheet," (free pdf) and let him estimate and measure various objects around the house using his own head string and tile. Lastly, we'll be considering how many tile are needed to measure the length of a ruler and reflect on what that says about the size of each tile. (Tile are 1" square.)

My 4yo measured for a bit and then made a train and house with his felt shapes.

**To access the free lesson, including blackline pdfs, go here and download "D2 Measurement: Length in U.S. Customary Units."

How Big is a Giant's Foot?

Following our lesson on "How Big is a Foot?" we decided to consider slightly BIGGER feet...

We began by reading Jim and the Beanstalk, a slightly different version of the traditional Jack tale. Both boys enjoyed hearing about how Jim helped the giant by measuring him for new glasses, new teeth (!) and a new wig. We then continued with a little giant measuring of our own.

Using Math Learning Center's free lesson, "Measuring Length in Giant Feet," I constructed a giant foot and asked my son to compare the length of my foot from yesterday's lesson to the new giant foot. He determined that about 3 of my feet equaled one giant foot and told me that the giant foot was then about a yard long. (To access the free lesson, including blackline pdfs, go here and download "D2 Measurement: Length in U.S. Customary Units.") He lay a yardstick on the giant foot to confirm. He estimated, then measured, various things around our house (including his brothers!) in giant feet and recorded it on the record sheet (included in the lessons). Before I set him loose to measure, I asked him, "What kinds of things would be hard to measure with the giant's foot?" He replied, "Anything very small." So he looked for large things to measure.

As big brother was measuring with the giant foot, little brother (4) pulled out paper, traced his flip-flop, cut it out, and began doing measurements of his own. All his idea! So they measured a few things with the small feet as well, considering how different the results could be with different sized feet.

We ended with a reading of a 2-sided book with two points-of-view, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Beanstalk Incident. One side tells the story from the goose's p.o.v. (favoring the giant!) while the other side tells Jack's story in the traditional way.

How Big is a Foot?

Here's a fun measurement lesson you can easily follow in your own classroom, at home or school...

Using a lesson idea from Marilyn Burns', Math and Literature (K-3), I read aloud the first part of the book, How Big is a Foot? The story tells of a King who wants to give the Queen something special for her birthday. He takes measurements, using his own feet as a guide, and sends a message to the Apprentice saying that the bed should be 6 feet by 3 feet. The Apprentice makes the bed, using his small feet as a reference. When the bed turns out too small, the Apprentice is jailed.

Following the lesson idea, we stopped reading the book in the middle and I asked ds8 to write a letter to the Apprentice, giving him some advice. My son wrote,

"Dear Apprentice,

The King used his big feet and you did it with your small feet. Tell the King to stand in front of you so you can use his big feet to measure."

After the letter, we read the rest of the book. Then we followed a lesson from the Math Learning Center, "Measuring Length in Teacher Feet." (To access the free lesson, including blackline pdfs, go here and download "D2 Measurement: Length in U.S. Customary Units." You'll find many fun lessons in that set.)

My son estimated how many steps it would take him to cross the living room. He then carefully measured with heel-to-toe steps and compared his estimate to the actual. He also estimated how many steps it would take me to cross the same space and compared estimate/actual. Then I gave him a paper foot I'd prepared by tracing one of my shoes. He used the "foot" and the record sheet (free pdf), estimating and then measuring things around our house.

More measuring fun to follow!....

Measuring Water Temperature & More (Penguins #4)

We had a blast today! Most of what we did was directly taken from or modified from the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum.

1. We read about how penguins are adapted to survive the cold.

2. Looking at a map, we located places discussed in the article, including various oceans.

3. Then, huge fun...exploring water temperature. We used cards from the curriculum which showed average January ocean temperatures for various locations around the world. I asked my son to consider what temperatures he thought would feel cold, were he to enter the water. We took 3 mugs and filled them with: hot water, cold water, and ice cubes. He then had an empty mug and a thermometer. It was his job to figure out how to get a cup of water to equal each of the different ocean temperatures we'd studied. (We did 60, 50, 45, and 30 degrees F.) This was SO. MUCH. FUN! He had a huge ah-ha moment when he extended the assignment by trying to get the water temperature as cold as he possible could. Stumped, he asked why he couldn't make the temp go under 32F. We had a great little discussion about freezing point. His eyes lit up, totally getting the point.

4. After the experiments, I asked him to write in his travel journal, pretending that he'd taken a dip in the Southern/Antarctic ocean.

5. He then wrote another long piece (so easy to get him to write in this context!) describing how he managed to get each different temperature, reflecting on what was easy and hard about the process.

6. We read some text and a poem about Rockhopper Penguins. My son measured the height of the Rockhopper on our measuring wall, where he could compare how tall the average Rockhopper is to his brother and himself. He then charted the comparative heights on a graph.

We took food cans from the cupboard, determining that they each weighed about 1 lb. My son demonstrated how much an average Rockhopper weighs, using a kitchen scale. He picked up the tray of cans and declared that they're about as heavy as one of our cats, but maybe a bit lighter. He noted the Rockhopper's coloration and found how many eggs they lay.

7. He wrote in his travel journal a second time, describing Rockhopper penguins he saw on his journey.  

8. He then said, "Sometime we should go to the store and find a book that compares all kinds of penguins." Happy to oblige, I referred him to the "penguin table" where I'd collected about 15 library books on the topic. He chose some to read.

9. We ended with several more chapters from Mr. Popper's Penguins.

What a great day!

Traveling to Antarctica to See PENGUINS! (Penguins #1)

For the next couple weeks, we're studying penguins. Travel along with us on Day #1 of our unit... :)

1. We sang the "7 Continents" song and located them on a map. I bought the maps at Target for $1 during back to school time. I've known the song forever. I'm not sure if I made it up or not. ;) Here's another version.

2. The boys wrote (4yo dictated) what they know and wonder about penguins. I generally have kids make their own KW (know and wonder) booklets, but I found a KWL penguin book that they enjoyed cutting/folding.

3. We read a poem introducing Antarctica. [from Math Learning Center's Bridges curriculum] Here's another Antarctica poem.

4. We make passports (photo above, from Bridges) that included our height and weight, which we measured. This is in preparation for measuring penguins, so I designated an area of the wall for this purpose.

5. I made little "suitcases"* out of cardstock and each child "packed." (*Just fold a piece of cardstock in half and cut the top into handle shapes.) My 8yo made a list of what he'd take to Antarctica, my 4yo "wrote" (I helped) and drew pictures.

6. We broke out the cold-weather clothing box--no snow here so far this year--and the kids donned winter wear for the journey. We enacted getting aboard an airplane and flying to Antarctica.

7. When we arrived, we watched several YouTube videos showing Antarctica. My 4yo quickly bored of this and wanted to reboard the jet.

8. Each boy colored a penguin to serve as a cover page for a travel journal. I don't like to use coloring pages (I'd actually printed one for ds8 to look at while drawing his own picture), but both boys were eager to use the coloring page. I let them. We stapled lined paper behind the cover to make the journal pages.

9. We read from Greetings from Antarctica as a model for what a visitor to Antarctica might see and experience. The book includes letters from the author to a child back home.

10. After reading about the remote tent camps in Antarctica, my guys layered on winter clothing again and set up camp in a play tent in our living room. They fashioned walkie talkies from clothespins, because they would attach to their clothing. They discussed going to see the penguins.

11. The mail arrived at a perfect time with a special package. I debated long and hard before ordering these, but I loved what Joyful Learner's daughter was doing with hers (I love ALL her ideas!...what an awesome teacher!)...so I ordered a Penguin Toob for my boys. They set them up on playdough "ice", made eggs, and took their penguins swimming in the "ocean" (hardwood floor.) I wanted this specific set because we'll be studying several of the species included in the pack. With all the fun they've had today, I'm considering another set for an upcoming birthday to expand the "family."

12. My 8yo ds journaled (see #8) about the first day of his "trip." I wrote about that here.

13. Update: The boys are playing and playing and playing with their penguins. Fantastic start to an exciting unit! I'll write a new post showing the habitat their sister made for them. Amazing. ;)

Find more penguin resources here:

KidZone Penguin Activities

MathWire Penguin Activities

My Penguin Blog Entries (with more links)

Isn't homeschooling great?!!! :)

See what others are up to...

Children's Math Book Review: The Dragon's Scales

On one of my giveaways, I asked folks to comment with their favorite children's math book. Someone suggested The Dragon's Scales, a Step Into Reading Level 3 (Grades 1-3*) book. I wasn't familiar with it. After reading it with my kids, I've found it so cute that I'm having a hard time returning it to the library! It's now on my wish list.

Summary: When a dragon threatens to disrupt the life of the townspeople, a little girl challenges the scaly creature to a math contest involving knowledge of weight.

The girl outwits the dragon through questions like, "Which weighs more, one apple or two peas?" and "Which weighs more, a little bag of gold or a big bag of cotton?" The dragon always goes for the obvious...large things or multiple things must always be heavier. After she beats him in the contest, the girl teaches the dragon, asking him which weighs more, "a bucket of bricks or a bucket of feathers?" At first the dragon starts to say that they must be the same since they're in identical buckets. After a long, hard, dragon-think--and with the help of the girl--he decides that the bricks must weigh more. And the town gets its own "watchdragon."

It would be fun to follow this up by having kids compare a variety of objects with a balance bucket, asking questions like "which weighs more...10 pennies or 10 dimes? 25 cottonballs or 5 buttons?"

*Although this is a Grade 1-3 book because of it's early reader designation, it also seems ideally suited to preK-K children who are ready to explore weight.

Fabulous Math Website

I accidentally found Links Learning when I was searching for a math site. It's phenomenal. The "Illustrated Lessons" are short movies that explain math concepts and then allow students to follow-up with interactive quizzes. From the site:

In this section, you will find some fun ways to learn about math. You can start out with Estimation of Length, Place Value, Weight and Capacity. If you want something more challenging, take a look at Line Symmetry, Patterns and Tangrams. Try some of these at home with your family!

On the Tangram movie, it gives you step by step instructions on making your own tangram. You push the button when you're ready for the next step. The lessons are great for introducing or reinforcing a concept.

Who Sank the Boat?

Yesterday, my 4yo ds received a book at church; this was his reward for reading for 10 hours this summer. (Well, I actually did the reading. That could be a whole 'nother blog entry. Do you know how many hours my older son read on his own compared to how many hours I read to his younger brother? Shameful, I tell you! About 2.5:1 ratio!)

The book, Who Sank the Boat?, is one that I've wanted to buy.

Summary: The reader is invited to guess who causes the boat to sink when five animals of varying sizes decide to go for a row.

Spoiler Alert (as if you can't see this coming!): four huge animals (cow, donkey, sheep, pig) get in, but it's the final passenger, the mouse, that causes the boat to sink.

We did some math and science activities based on the story.

First, collect a variety of objects from around the house. Set out two objects at a time and ask child to predict which is heavier. For some comparisons, I use large, light objects (fluffy pillow) vs. small, heavy objects (rock). Place one object in each of the child's hands and ask him which one is heavier. If you have a balance scale, you can do a little informal work there as well.

We did some float/sink lessons. (pdfs available--I used the picture drawing one for the 4yo, the writing one for my 8yo) The site also links a BBC interactive video where kids get to predict whether various items will sink or float.

Although this lesson is primarily for my 4yo, my 8yo enjoyed participating in the sink/float scientific inquiry. Challenge question...find an object around the house that will trick mom...one that I think will float when it will actually sink or vice versa. (My son did it with Playmobile animals.)

Check out more Math Monday links at Joyful Learner or click on the Math Box below to find more math activities suitable for Workboxes.

Math Workbox: Twenty-One Elephants

 

In 1883, workers completed the Brooklyn Bridge, an incredible feat of 19th century engineering. Problem was, folks were scared to cross it. How did they know if the bridge would hold?

In 1884, circus legend P.T. Barnum crossed the bridge with 21 elephants to prove the span could withstand anything...even the likes of Jumbo. The story is told (and fictionalized to varying degrees) in two books, Twenty-One Elephants and Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing.

I wrote up three Math Box Card activities for children to do after reading the books. Lessons include comparing/contrasting literature, problem solving/measurement, and history. You can download them, free! Enjoy and please leave me a note if you do the activity.

Math Blog Entries--a Few Creative Favorites!

Several creative posts from fellow bloggers on teaching math...

From Jimmie's Collage, Living Math with Positive and Negative Numbers

The Snails Trail, Non-Standard Measurement with Inch Worms

Joyful Learner's "Math Monday" series

(I don't want to lose track of these, so I'll post them here for you, too!)

Coming tomorrow...an INCREDIBLE math site with free game and movie apps!!!

Exploring Area with Pattern Blocks

Last week I mentioned how we used pattern blocks to explore area during our geometry class. Today, my student continued the lesson as he explored area using pattern blocks with puzzles.

I own several different pattern block books: Pattern Block Problems for Primary People, Patternables and Magnetic Pattern Blocks. I used the first two as it was easy to find puzzles that did not use the tan parallelogram and orange  square (not used in this lesson.) I took all the pages out of both books, slipped each page into a plastic sleeve, and put them all into a 3-ring binder. This allows multiple children to use materials at once; I just pull out a page or two at a time. Today, little student, age 4, put pattern blocks onto some of the easiest puzzles while big student, age 7, calculated area. [Side note: the magnetic books are great for younger kids who may have trouble keeping the blocks in place as they work on a puzzle.]

I again explained that "just for today" a green triangle has an area of 1. With that in mind, I asked him to figure the area for 6 puzzles. He first had to solve the puzzle itself, trying different pattern blocks until he found the ones that fit correctly. After the puzzle was finished, he figured the area for each figure if a triangle = 1. I put a small post-it note next to each puzzle where he could write the answer. When he finished, he explained to me how he got his answer. He calculated so quickly that I sometimes had to ask him repeat himself because "Mommy can't add that fast!" I videotaped one example...it's the first time he's sharing this puzzle with me. See if you can keep up! ;) I wouldn't expect students new to pattern blocks to be able to add so fast, but he's obviously familiar with the shapes and how many triangles fit in each. (You'll want to investigate how many triangles fit in each pattern block shape with your own student before figuring larger puzzles.)



If you keep the puzzles in plastic sleeves, you could ask your student to trace each shape using a dry erase marker, then write the value inside each outline. [For example, a trapezoid would have a "3" written inside it, a triangle a "1", etc.]

Before bedtime, we'll read Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!, a book that considers area and perimeter as tables and chairs are readied for a family reunion.

P.S. Pattern blocks are widely available for purchase. Amazon and The Math Learning Center are two options. Disclaimer: I make a few cents on purchases if you click from here to Amazon. I do not make money on pattern blocks through The Math Learning Center, but they are an awesome non-profit and worth supporting. :)