Lauren Discoe & Isaiah Gannaway

ED 457A CIA
Winter 2013

Formal Lesson Plan Format

Lesson Title: Metric Scavenger Hunt
Subject Area and Grade Level: Mathematics for Third Grade
Approximate time/length of lesson: 1.5 hours
Part 1
State Content Standards:
3.MP.3 Construct Viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
3.MD.2 Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard
units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l). (Excludes compound units such as
cm3 and finding the geometric volume of a container.) Add, subtract, multiply, or
divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given
in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement
scale) to represent the problem. (Excludes multiplicative comparison problems
[problems involving notions of times as much; see Glossary, Table 2])
Assessments:
Students will fill out the Metric Scavenger Hunt Worksheet as a group, showing their
estimations and actual measurements as a formative assessment to guide future
learning activities.
Modification/Adaptations:
Some students may not be required to fill every role in the group based on
need. (Example: A person who has seeing-impairment may be given sample
lengths, weights and volumes to use for estimation by comparison.)
Supply written instructions with visuals for each group to take into the field.
Part 2
1. Pre-lesson/Material Details:
Materials:
i. Assume 30 kids working in groups of three
ii. 30 cards with grams, liters, or meters on them and some key
facts about the measurement on it.
iii. 10 meter sticks
iv. 10 gram scales
v. 10 1-liter beakers
vi. 10 scavenger hunt lists

Lauren Discoe & Isaiah Gannaway

ED 457A CIA
Winter 2013

Pre-lesson/Details:
- Send reminders home with students about bringing appropriate
outdoor clothing to school for lesson day.
- Set up liquid measurements prior to lesson.

2. Focus & Purpose: Brief explanation of the purpose of the lesson, highlighting the
big idea(s) in the lesson and the type of lesson design you are using to support the
students in their learning for this lesson.
Purpose: To familiarize the students with measurement and weight as
it pertains to the real world, by giving them physical objects and realworld examples.
Lesson Design: Cooperative learning- they will be working together in
small groups with each member having a role as a part of the learning
structure of this activity.
3. Objectives:
Students will be able to estimate weights, lengths and volumes in the
metric system and show the work on the scavenger hunt worksheet.
Students will be able to measure weights (in grams), lengths (in
centimeters),and volumes (in deciliters) within 50% of the given
measurement on the scavenger hunt worksheet.
4. Procedure:
Open (15 minutes)
Talk about measurement and different ways it can be done. (Example: I am six shoes, 5
feet 9 inches or 1 me tall)
Reintroduce the metric systems
Discuss the difference between weight (grams), length (meters) and volume (liters).
Make small groups of by handing out cards. Each group will have a person with a grams
card, a liters card and meters card- he/she will be the expert on this measurement.
Assign roles: The leader will be the student who has the card that matches the kind of
measurement that the group is doing. The other two will decide who is the recorder and
who is the double-checker for this measurement.
Process: Emphasize guess, check, revise as a strategy for estimation of weights, lengths
and volumes.
o The extra spaces on the worksheet are for showing your estimations even when
they dont end up being right.
Body (1 hour)
Students will wander in the courtyard (or alternate clearly defined area) and fill out their

Lauren Discoe & Isaiah Gannaway

ED 457A CIA
Winter 2013

worksheet.
Teachers and aids will observe, ask thought-provoking questions and answer student
questions.
o They will also pay special attention to making sure that estimation is happening
and being recorded on the worksheets.
There will be a reminder given every 15 minutes to help the students pace themselves as
they work.
Close (15 minutes)
Congratulate students on their concentrated effort to finish the worksheets.
Ask students if they found any measurements that surprised them or made them laugh.
What was the hardest unit to measure? The easiest?
What are some reasons you might need to know how to find these measurements in real
life?
Part 3

Resources:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6021881_teach-kids-metric-system.html#ixzz2vRll3BUu
Send students on a metric scavenger hunt to find various objects of different lengths. This will
help students become more familiar with metric units, such as centimeters and meters.