I used the Tasks section to reflect upon the tasks used, the types of understandings that they were intended to get at, and to develop new tasks that could have targeted those understandings more effectively. Here is a summary of those potential alternative lessons, which I believe could be strung together to create a (probably multi-session) lesson plan that could better target the fundamental measurement skills I was hoping to see in my students.
Each of these activities, ideally, would target a specific understanding, while meanwhile allowing me to better assess where each student stands in relationship to that particular understanding. By employing more authentic tasks that focus on partner work, I would hopefully shift much of the responsibility from myself onto the students, and could take a much less dominant role in discussion. Meanwhile, I believe that each of these activities would better be able to address my overarching Term III goal of using partnerships as a tool for differentiation (described in my Core Decisions).
- Basic object measurement: Have students, in partners, measure an object (e.g. a pencil) and agree upon the length before discussing it with the other pair. If both pairs are successful, a brief discussion can be followed by moving on to the next activity; if one or both pairs struggle but have productive discussion, then the activity could be repeated with another object (and, possibly, with shuffled pairs, if both members of one partnership struggle more than members of the other partnership).
- Subdivision of units: Perhaps the last activity could transition into this activity by having students measure a one-inch piece of paper – then next, tearing it in half, and asking them to measure it and discuss how long it is (again, in “think-pair-share” format). Discussion here should build to an understanding of the divisibility of measurement units, the meaning of the small markers on rulers, and the understanding of units of length as representing length rather than numbers.
- Conservation: Have students measure me against a measuring tape on the wall, then measure each other. Once they have recorded their heights, challenge them by measuring them against a new tape that begins two feet off the ground. After discussion, introduce images of objects aligned and misaligned with a ruler, and challenge them to determine the proper lengths of the objects.
- (Upon reflection, it seems that the ease of this measurement task will depend on the measuring tape used. If it measures heights in the form of, for example, 4’ 2”, reading the tape might pose a problem for students who struggle to understand the iteration of units such as feet. On the other hand, if the tape says something like 50”, then perhaps I could use that as an opportunity to show them how that translates to 4’2” – but perhaps that’s too complex to add at this point…)
- Independent measurement practice: Provide each student a list of lengths corresponding to assembled items; divide the items between the members of each partnership. Students can only measure their own objects (with their partners’ observation and advice); however, both students must record all the objects on their sheets, including their partners’ objects.
Each of these activities, ideally, would target a specific understanding, while meanwhile allowing me to better assess where each student stands in relationship to that particular understanding. By employing more authentic tasks that focus on partner work, I would hopefully shift much of the responsibility from myself onto the students, and could take a much less dominant role in discussion. Meanwhile, I believe that each of these activities would better be able to address my overarching Term III goal of using partnerships as a tool for differentiation (described in my Core Decisions).