Measuring With Non-Standard Units

Reflection

March 2011

When I started my placement at Smallwood Elementary the class was just beginning the measurement unit. My cooperating teacher asked me to teach the math unit during my second week.  I gave the students the pre-assessment activity, which is included in the appendix, and continued on with the unit; including the fish measurement activity included in the LE.

In relation to the real world, the students will be able to pull the importance of measurement out of this measurement unit. I am certain to include many personal connections for measurement in my life to interest the students and motivate them to relate measurement to their own personal experiences.

After this LE, I feel that the students were able to grasp the objectives and expectations that were set.  By scoring the measuring fish assessment with the “Non-Standard Unit Measurement” rubric, I feel that the students benefit from the time that was spent on the curriculum based on the positive scores. Felt so accomplished when she said, “Oh, now I see, it has to start here and it can’t go before it or the answer will be wrong.” This student was referring to where the unit had to begin for the purpose of accuracy when measuring. When working one-on-one with one of the students, I Not only did the students perform well, but the students seemed to enjoy the unit due to the fact that I was quite hands-on. After I graded each of the student’s assessment worksheets, I looked back at the rubrics and saw that many of the students scored with a 15 or 16 out of 16 points. With the specific qualities that the rubric assessed, the students showed me that they met the standards and achieved the objectives that I set for them.

After the completion of this measurement unit, I feel that the students are ready to move on to the next unit involving fractions. The fact that fractions come directly after measurement sets the students up for the introduction of fractions with the process of measurement and the fractions in measurement recordings.  Even though I am not with the students for the fraction unit, I feel confident in their ability to comprehend the concepts due to their success with the measurement unit.