Lesson 4

Measure with Unusual Units

Est. Class Sessions: 3
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Mathematical Standards

1.NBT.B
Understand place value. (1.NBT.B.3)
1.MD.A
Measure lengths indirectly and by iterating length units. (1.MD.A.1, 1.MD.A.2)
1.MD.C
Represent and interpret data. (1.MD.C.4)

Standards for Mathematical Practice

MP1.
Make sense of problems and persevere in
solving them.
MP2.
Reason quantitatively.
MP4.
Model with mathematics.
MP5.
Use appropriate tools strategically.
MP6.
Attend to precision.

Students examine the relationship between the size of a unit and the number of units in a measurement. They measure, compare, and order the length of an object using different nonstandard units of measure while practicing good measurement techniques.

Content in this Lesson

  • Measuring length using nonstandard units [E9].
  • Recognizing that the measure of a length is dependent on the size of the unit of measure [E7].
  • Collecting and organizing data in a data table.
  • Making a bar graph to find information about a data set [E10].
  • Reading a table or bar graph to find information about a data set [E11].
  • Using patterns in data to make predictions and solve problems.
  • Comparing and ordering lengths using comparative language: shorter, longer, shortest, longest [E5].
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Materials for Students

Daily Practice and Problems Lesson Homework Assessment

Student Books
Student Activity Book

Teacher Resources

 Teacher Guide - digital

Supplies for Student Groups

2 containers, each filled with nonstandard units of measure. See Materials Preparation.
self-adhesive notes

Materials for the Teacher

Display of Unusual Units Graph Master (Teacher Guide)
Unit 7 Assessment Record
How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller
pencil for display
small and large paper clips for display
Measuring Advice chart from Lesson 2
Measuring Length with Unusual Units data table display. See Materials Preparation.
masking tape or chalk
chart paper

Materials Preparation

Gather Nonstandard Units of Measure. Select four types of objects to use as units of measure. See Figure 1 for suggestions. While these objects should be different lengths, all objects of one type should be the same length. Each student group will need two containers filled with one type of unit each (e.g., a box of small paper clips and a box of new crayons). Try to give each group one smaller unit and one larger unit.

Nonstandard Units of Measure
Smaller Units Larger Units
paper clips
erasers
connecting cubes
connecting links
adhesive notes
pennies		 new crayons
markers
paper napkins
plastic forks, spoons, or knives
new pencils
paper towels
clothes pins
base-ten skinnies

Figure 1: Suggestions for nonstandard units of measure


Prepare a Data Table for Display. Make a data table on chart paper. Title it "Measuring Length with Unusual Units" as shown in the sample data table in Figure 2. List the four objects you have selected as the nonstandard units of measure.

Measuring Length with Unusual Units
Objects Used to Measure Number of Objects
big paper clips
little paper clips
clothes pins
crayons

Figure 2: A sample data table on chart paper for display


Customize Watch Your Step Activity. Determine and list four distances that students will measure with their foot lengths on the Watch Your Step Master and make one copy per student.

Assessment in this Lesson

Assessment Expectation Assessed Math Practices
Expectation Assessed
Tiny Beds
Check-In: Question 5
Student Activity Book
Page 188
E7.
Recognize that the measure of a length is dependent on the size of the unit of measure (e.g., a pencil is 4 large paper clips or 6 small paper clips).
MPE5.
Show my work. I show or tell how I arrived at my answer so someone else can understand my thinking.
DPP Item Q
How Much Farther 2
Teacher Guide - digital
E6.
Solve addition problems involving length and whole numbers whose sums are less than 30 using tools (e.g., connecting links, tables, graphs).
DPP Item T
Math Facts Strategies
Teacher Guide - digital
E12.
Use mental math strategies to add (direct modeling, counting strategies, reasoning from known facts) for the facts in Group C with sums to ten.

Vocabulary in this Lesson