Kindergarten Mini Rocket Inquiry: Part 3

Introduction:

• Introduce the lesson using a read-aloud of a picture book that features non-standard units of measurement. We have listed suggestions in the materials section, but this lesson can be completed with any text that explores the use of non-standard units of measurement.
• During or after the reading, engage students in thinking about non-standard units of measurement. Possible questions include:
  • Do you agree with the measurements that [character(s) in the story] made? What do you think will happen [when character(s) use two different sized objects to measure something]? Why did [the character(s)] get two different results when they measured using [the non-standard unit of measurement in the story]? Do you think using [non-standard unit of measurement in story] will work? What might go wrong when using [non-standard unit of measurement in story]? What other objects might [the character(s)] use for measuring?

Lesson:

• Tell students: One day soon, we will go outside to launch our mini-rockets to see how far they fly! But first, we have a decision to make. Just like the characters in [name of the book you selected to read aloud] had to find a way to measure [the objects being measured in the story], we need to figure out how to measure the distance our mini-rockets fly when launched.
• Depending on your class, you may be measuring with standard units of measurement (e.g., metre sticks) or non-standard units of measurement
• If this is an introduction to measurement, tell students: A “unit” is something we can use to break down a long distance (e.g., the classroom) into something smaller (e.g. floor tiles). Measuring items using the same unit allows us to see which distances are longer and which are shorter.
• Give students three minutes to engage in a “scavenger hunt” within the classroom to find something that they think could be used as a unit of measurement.
• Gather students in a circle and lead them in a discussion about how they should determine a useful unit of measurement.
  • Ask students:
  • Who found a straight edge nonstandard measurement tool? Who found a measurement tool that can bend? What measurement tool would I need to measure the distance around a ball?
    • These questions help students explore the different items in our world that we might need to measure and encourages them to consider the different tools we can use to accomplish those tasks.
  • How far do you think your mini-rocket will travel? What can we compare that length to? Will it be as long as the chalkboard on the wall? A school bus? The whole school?
    • Use these prompts to guide students through the process of making estimations/predictions, and reflecting upon how those estimations compare to distances/measurements with which they are already familiar. Connecting new ideas to dimensions they already recognize helps students think through how sizes, distances, amounts, etc. compare to each other and lays the groundwork for discussing standard units of measurement.
  • What size should our unit be (e.g., a shoe-length or a pool-noodle length). Can our measurement tool change as we are measuring distances? Why do you think we should use that size? What should we do if our mini-rockets land in the middle of one of our units of measurement (e.g., halfway along the second pool noodle)?
• Having considered large-scale units of measurement (the length of a bus or school), students must now consider how to measure a range of distances, some of which may be quite close together. The challenge is to be precise when measuring the distance their mini-rockets travel. Some distances will require a few different units to determine an accurate measurement. Help students assess the different units of measurement they are considering, and weigh their strengths and weaknesses.
• Ultimately, the class should narrow down their non-standard units of measurement to two or three ideas (e.g., metre sticks, unsharpened pencils, and small blocks)

Conclusion:

• Have students collect their mini-rockets and return to the group.
• Ask students: Look around the group at everyone’s mini-rocket – which one do you think will go the furthest? Why do you think it will go furthest?
• Ask students to predict how far their mini-rockets will go in terms of the nonstandard measurement scale they just decided on (e.g., 20 unsharpened pencils).

Extension (this activity also appears in Part 5):

• As students predict the distance their mini-rockets will travel, record them on a large sheet of paper. After all the predictions have been made and recorded, ask students to organize the predictions in order from shortest to furthest distance traveled. This is an opportunity for students to explore how the different nonstandard units of measurement they have chosen relate (e.g., will two pool noodles be longer than seven rulers? How do we know?).
• Lead students through the process of discovering how one unit of measurement fits within another (e.g. eight small blocks = one ruler; five rulers + two small blocks = one pool noodle).