The College of New Jersey

Toni D'Amato
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson and Grade Level : Measurement 1st grade
2. Lesson Essential Question(s):
What is measurement and how can it be shown that two objects are the same length?

3. Standards:
1.MD.2. Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length
unit) end to end;
understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps.
Limit to
contexts where the object being measured is spanned by a whole number of length units with no gaps or overlaps.

4. A. Learning Objectives and Assessments:. These must be written in observable terms

and be assessable. These must also correlate to the Common Core Standards addressed above.
B. Assessments:
Learning Objectives

Assessments

The students will be able to measure lines

using marshmallows, without overlapping.

The students will complete Marshmallow

worksheet.

The students will be able to measure objects in

the classroom using cubes and explain how
they got their answer.

The students will do the folder exit slip and

discuss it with the class.

5. Materials: List materials/resources you and the students will need to teach/learn this lesson.
White board
Big pad to write on
Document camera
Marshmallows (big and small)
Cubes
Marshmallow worksheet
Homework folders
Exit slip
6 . Pre-lesson assignments and/or prior knowledge:
Most students will already know when they look at two objects if one is longer or shorter.
This might be difficult for other students to recognize right away. Some may have the
misconception that objects need to be measured with a longer object instead of a shorter object
to tell how many of that object it is.
7. Lesson Beginning:
Ask students if they know what it means to measure something and write it on the big pad
near the board. Take all of the students ideas and make a list out of them as they give them. Tell
the students that today will be a fun filled day of measuring and that everyone has to cooperate
to get to the final measuring surprise.
8. Instructional Plan:
Tell students that we need to figure out how long the chalkboard is using the students in
the classroom. Ask if any students have ideas about how to start this challenge. Call up a

table of 5 students and tell them to line up along the chalkboard. (Have students like
Chase, Christian, come up to board to be active and moving so they can try to pay more
attention. Try to keep struggling students sitting so they can actually see the
measurement from their seats.) Ask if the chalkboard is the same length as 5 students.
Then call up another table. See as a class how many more students are needed to be the
same length as the chalkboard. Let all the students go back to their seats and write on the
board The chalkboard is __ students long. Chalkboard = (however many) students Have
the students help answer that question.

Before having the students go back to their seats make one student stand in front of the
other student and put an extra person along the chalkboard. Ask the class if this is the
right way to measure. Do you think we can have 2 students stand in the same place when
we measure the board? After some students give answers explain that when measuring 2
objects cannot overlap like these 2 students. Have students go back to their seats. To
continue this discussion, draw a line on a paper projecting it using the document camera.
Take out cubes and place them along the line, but overlap 2 cubes. Ask the students if this
is right way measure, try to see if Sadie, Kamryn, Dylan, Tyler, Sasha, Darryl understand
because they usually struggle with math. During the next activity, when the students are
working in pairs specifically watch these students to give them extra help if they need it.

Do the marshmallow measuring activity with the children. First, partner the students to do
this activity. Partner some of the struggling students or ELLs with an advanced or average
student so hopefully they will help each other understand and complete the activity
correctly. Then, tell students that they will be using marshmallows, but they cannot eat
them. They will be able to eat them when they are finished if they complete the task and
are well behaved. Give each student a worksheet and explain the directions. Hand out the
marshmallows and do the first one with the children. Measure the first line first with the
mini marshmallows, then with the big marshmallows and write in in the correct box. Have
the worksheet on the document camera so the students can follow along. Tell students
they can go ahead after completing the first one if they are confident in doing so.

Tell the students when they finish on the back to measure anything in the classroom using
the marshmallows. First, they have to write what it is then how many big or small
marshmallows. This is for Addison, Kiley Trevor, Dominique because they will probably
finish early. Some of the other students will not get to this point but the main part is the
front of the worksheet, tell students if they dont get to the back they can try it at home
with objects at their house.

Go over the whole worksheet with the students and how many mini and big marshmallows
for each line needed. Make students say it out loud together. Line one was ___ mini
marshmallows long and ___ big marshmallows long. Ask the students if the line changed
because there were more mini marshmallows to measure it than big marshmallows, or if it
is the same size just measured by something smaller. Explain how this works.

The following elements also need to be considered:

o Differentiation:
In the first activity I will let the students that need to move a lot come up to the board so
they can get rid of some energy. Also, when the students are doing the marshmallow activity.
They can follow along with the teacher the whole time if they feel they need to, so the students
that need more help can ask questions and get the help that they need. Also, they will work with
someone who can help them as well, which usually works better than a teacher helping.
o Questions:

Do you think you know what it means to measure something?

How do you think we can identify how long the chalkboard is?
Can we overlap students when measuring?
If we measure a line with two different objects and get different answers, did the line get
bigger or smaller? Or is it the same length?

o Classroom Management:
When the teacher distributes materials the students can talk quietly but not move around.
When the students are paired they should be paired so that the higher-level students can help
the lower lever and ELL students while working together. Some students may act out when they
can get up and measure whatever they want. The teacher just has to watch out for the students
that usually act out and keep them in check when they are aloud to move around or supposed to
be seated.
o Transitions:
The students will usually be moving back to their seats or to partners during transitions. After the
beginning the students will listen to the instructions for the white board measuring. Then the
student will go back to their seats to understand objects cannot overlap when measuring. To
transition to the marshmallow activity students will move to the table with their given pair. If
they finish early they can get up and measure something around the room, but when the teacher
say s they must go back to come back together they will sit with their pair again. After this
activity they will go back to their own seats to complete the exit slip, and once they are finished
they will go to the carpet to discuss.
9. Closure:

Tell the students to take out their homework folder. Tell them that they must measure both
sides of the folder using the cubes at their tables. They should write the number of cubes
to measure each side of the folder on the exit slip. Explain that it does not matter which
side of the folder they measure first, either side could be side one or two. Tell the students
after they complete the exit slip to come to the carpet to sit in a circle. They will go around
to explain their answers and hoe they arrived at it. They may pass if they want to. This will
get the children talking about math with each other and the teacher can see how they are
thinking. The teacher will collect the exit slips at the end.

Assessment:

_______________________________________________________

.____________________________________

__________________________

_____________________________________________

____________________

Exit Slip:

Name_________________________________________________
Folder measurement

Side 1: ________________ cubes

Side 2: ________________ cubes

Works cited

Marshmallow Measurement- Teachers pay teachers

Kelli Bollman
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Measurement-FREE-131212