Elementary Lessons & Materials || Contents

The consultant staff of Mathematicians has developed a series of lesson plans to help North Carolina teachers in implementing the state's Mathematics Curriculum.

  General/Units

• Measurement: Use non-standard units to measure length, weight, capacity
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Using Cuisenaire rods or Unifix cubes or straws, measure the length of the teacher's desk, a tall book, and the bookcase. Use paper clips to measure shorter objects. If you use rods of a different color or larger paper clips, would the answer be the same? Determine the weight of classroom objects using counters as nonstandard units and a balance. Estimate and then check to see how many counters balance the object.

• Measurement: Choose appropriate tool for measuring
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Show student a book. Ask child to get from the measurement center what is needed to determine how long the book is (an inch or centimeter ruler). Ask child how to figure out what the book weighs. What is needed to weigh the book? Would a ruler help? Ask student to measure the length of a pencil. Give student the choice of using a centimeter ruler or a meter stick (or an inch ruler or a yard stick).

• Measurement: Cover areas with non-standard units
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Give student a workmat. Tell student to completely cover the mat with Unifix cubes. Could you cover this mat with playing cards? Would it take more or fewer playing cards? Give student an outline and some pattern blocks. Do you think you could completely cover this shape with blue parallelograms? With yellow hexagons? Would you use more parallelograms or hexagons?"

• Measurement: Estimate number of smaller units contained in larger unit
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Give student a pattern block outline. Ask child to estimate how many blocks will fill it. Have student complete the puzzle and count. Ask child if there is any way to complete the same puzzle using more blocks. Would there be a way to use fewer? Give student a template or a pattern. Ask child to estimate how many of the figures could be cut from a piece of construction paper. Have student explain and tell how to check the prediction.

• Measurement: Use measurement related words in daily vocabulary
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Have student correct silly sentences (oral or written task). For example: "John is getting very fat. He weighs 60 inches." "Tonya poured juice for each student. She gave each child a quart." "Susan walked a long way. She walked 10 centimeters." "The bug crawled across the desk. lt went about six miles."

  Length

• Measurement: Compare objects/use appropriate vocabulary
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Ask two students to stand. Have another child tell who is taller (shorter). Direct one of the students to choose a friend and exchange places. Now who is taller (shorter)? Make other comparisons with people and familiar objects in the classroom. Set up a table with six "compare" stations - two stations each of weight, length, and capacity. Have students compare objects at each station, explaining the comparisons. As students become confident in the measurement process, have child record the results of the comparisons.

• Measurement: Estimate one inch/centimeter; measure length to nearest inch/centimeter
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Read Jim And The Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs to participants. This book is an example of using a story to introduce a math lesson. Jim measures the giant so that he can buy glasses, a wig, and false teeth for the giant. The children can brainstorm ways we use measurement in our world. Children can measure height, foot length, etc. of other children. Graphs can be created using this information. This would be a good book to use as in introduction to your measurement unit. Children can record their observations and conclusions in their learning logs. Another delightful book to use in introducing measurement is How Big Is A Foot by Rolf Myller.

• Measurement: Explore conservation of length, capacity, weight
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Make a zigzag path with toothpicks or paperclips. Ask student to make another path, straight not crooked, that would be the same length. Ask student to explain about the path being created. (Students who do not conserve length will not focus on the number of toothpicks or paper clips in the first path but will match the length in a straight line.) Ask students if they added 10 more toothpicks to each path, would they be the same length?

• Measurement: Select a unit, measure length
  Grade 4 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Metric and standard units of measure. Lesson Plans. Select an appropriate unit and measure length (inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters

  Money

• Measurement: Identify coins needed; make different sets with same value
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: A classroom store helps children not only to recognize money, but also to value it. Set up a store with inexpensive toys, pencils, erasers, candy, etc. Children earn money by bringing in homework, good behavior, etc. This money is then spent in the classroom store. The store only takes plastic money. The children must count out their money and their change.

• Measurement: Identify/give values of penny, nickel, dime
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Ask student to identify coins (both heads and tails) and state their values. Which coin is worth the most? Which is worth the least? Ask students to identify coins through riddles: "On one side of me there is a monument. On the other side is Abraham Lincoln. I am copper colored. I am worth one cent. Who am I?"

• Measurement: Estimate costs; make change using coins
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Set up a class store. Tell the student you would like to spend between twenty and thirty cents for two items. Ask student to name pairs of items you could buy. Repeat the activity asking for three items you could purchase for a given price. Have student explain the thinking in making the estimates. Price the items in the classroom store with tags showing values less than a dollar. Have a wide variety of prices. Ask child to choose three items and estimate if they will cost more than fifty cents or less than fifty cents. Have students use a calculator to check the estimates.

• Measurement: Give value of sets of coins, identify coins needed to buy items
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Ask student to identify coins and give value of each coin. Show student a group of coins. Ask child how much money there is. Ask student to make a set of same value using different coins. Student is told an amount of money (for example, $0.57). Have student show the amount with real coins, play money, coin rubbings, or money stamps.

• Measurement: Read/write money expressions (cent notation)
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Read amounts of money written with cent mark. Read money amounts written in decimal form. Given an advertisement, have student read appropriate sale prices. When student determines the value of a set of coins, ask child to write how much money there is using cent mark.

• Measurement: Solve simple time/money problems
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Show student a quarter, two dimes, a nickel, and three pennies. Do you have enough money to buy a toy that costs $0.45? Would you have any money left over? If so, how much? Tell the student that you want to buy an ice cream cone with three scoops. Each scoop costs ten cents. If you have $0.40, could you buy a three-scoop cone? If each scoop costs five cents, how many single cones could you buy for $0.25? Ask a student to show you all the ways to make $0.30 using ten coins or fewer.

  Shapes

• Measurement: Identify equal/unequal parts.
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Divide shapes (paper, pop tarts or other edible models) into parts. Ask student if all parts are the same size. Explain how you know. Use Unifix cubes (paper clips, counters, cereal, etc.) to make groups. Ask student if the groups are equal. Ask student to explain how to tell.

  Temperature

• Measurement: Read Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Using a demonstration thermometer have the children act out the way they would feel at given temperatures. For example, at 0 degrees C (30 degrees F) the children would shiver, but at 25 degrees C (80 degrees F) they would pretend to be hot. Reverse the activity and have some children pantomime being hot, cold, cool, warm, etc. Another student would make the thermometer read correctly...

  Time

• Measurement: Name/order days of week; name months of year
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Ask child to name days of the week. A more difficult task is to begin mid-week and name the days. How many days are there in a week? Teacher writes days of week on board. Student reads them and closes eyes as teacher erases one word. Student opens eyes and tells what is missing.

• Measurement: Tell time to nearest hour (face/digital clocks)
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Ask student which hand is the hour hand. Where does the long hand point when the time is o'clock? When beginning to learn to tell time, have children look carefully at what happens to the hour hand. Discuss how it is exactly on the 2 at 2:00. Watch as the hand slowly moves to the next hour.

• Measurement: Use information on a calendar
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Tell child today's date. Ask the student to find it on the calendar. What is tomorrow's date? What day was yesterday? What will the date be one week from today ? What year is this? Ask student what month is this. What was last month? Do you know what next month will be?

• Measurement: Use time related words in daily vocabulary
  Grade 1 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Measurement. Lesson Plans: Given a set of events, ask student to tell when (the time of day) these might take place. For example, brush your teeth, go to a movie, go to the school cafeteria, wear your pajamas, go the swimming pool, leave school to go home. Ask student to relate specific events, observing if the child uses words such as yesterday, today, earlier, later, before, after, next, morning, afternoon, night, day before.

• Measurement: Tell time to nearest half hour
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Telling time involves a variety of skills. Begin time by making a paper plate clock. Use a small plate to make the inside clock which has the numbers for the hours on it. Then put a brad through a larger paper plate and write the minutes on that plate. This helps the children to see the two separate skills or two separate jobs of the two hands.

• Measurement: Sequence months; use calendar to solve problems
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Show child cards with the months of the year in order. Turn some months over and ask "What's missing? What month comes before June, after February, between August and October? How many months are in a year? What month will it be two months from now?" Give cards with the names of the months to 12 children and ask them to put themselves in order.

  Volume, Weight

• Measurement: Measure capacity to nearest cup
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Give student a large container with macaroni (water, sand, rice, or beans). Ask student to determine how many cups there are. Ask student to estimate and then measure the number of cups different containers will hold. How many cups will a quart container hold? (explore, not memorize!)

• Measurement: Weigh objects to nearest pound/kilogram
  Grade 2 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Mathematics Curriculum Competency Goal 4: Standard units of metric and customary measurement. Lesson Plans: Use a balance and a one-kilogram weight (or a one pound weight). ask child to determine if objects are heavier or lighter than one kilogram (one pound). Record the findings on a chart. Use a bathroom scale. Have student weigh. Record the weight. Repeat and compare in three months.

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