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Private: Learning Math: Measurement
Classroom Case Studies, 3-5
Watch this program in the 10th session for grade 3-5 teachers. Explore how the concepts developed in this course can be applied through case studies of grade 3-5 teachers (former course participants who have adapted their new knowledge to their classrooms), as well as a set of typical measurement problems for grade 3-5 students.
In This Session
Part A: The Concept of Area
Part B: Reasoning About Measurement
Part C: Problems That Illustrate Measurement Reasoning
Homework
This is the final session of the Measurement course! In this session, we will examine how measurement concepts from the previous nine sessions might look when applied to situations in your own classroom. This session is customized for three grade levels. Select the grade level most relevant to your teaching.
In the previous sessions, we explored many different topics related to measurement. You put yourself in the position of a mathematics learner, both to analyze your individual approach to solving problems and to get some insights into your own understanding of measurement topics. It may have been difficult to separate your thinking as a mathematics learner from your thinking as a mathematics teacher. Not surprisingly, this is often the case! In this session, however, we will shift the focus to your own classroom and to the approaches your students might take with mathematical tasks involving measurement. Note 1
For the list of materials that are required and/or optional in this session, see Note 2.
Learning Objectives
In this session, you will do the following:
- Explore the development of the concept of area in the elementary grades
- Examine students’ understanding of area and perimeter relationships
- Investigate instructional tasks on area that are developmentally appropriate for elementary school students
- Explore how you might teach related measurement topics
Key Terms
Previously Introduced
Area: Area is a measure of how much surface is covered by a figure.
Notes
Note 1
This session uses classroom case studies to examine how children in grades 3-5 think about and work with measurement concepts. If you are taking this course on your own, you may want to share your observations on Channel Talk or ask some of your colleagues for their input. Using the classrooms of fellow teachers as well as your own as case studies will allow you to make additional observations.
Note 2
Materials Needed:
- Graph paper (optional)
- Square tiles (optional)
- Centimeter grid paper (optional)
- Geometry software, such as Geometer’s
- Sketchpad (optional)
- Pictures or models of different types of triangles (optional)
- Protractor (optional)
