Second Grade - MATH
5: Math
Unit 5: Measurement: Length
Lesson 1
Why Do We Use Standard Measurement Units?
Students measure the lengths of several objects (a book, a cereal box, a picture frame, and a bar of soap) using paper clips and record their measurements in the NONSTANDARD UNITS chart. Students make repeated measurements of a hallway or walkway using feet, comparing the results of two people measuring the same distance. The text notes that a measurement may be "a little more than 4 paper clips but is closer to 4 paper clips than to 5," which prompts students to consider whole-number approximations.
Lesson 2
Inches
Students measure the lengths of multiple concrete objects (shoe, key, deck of cards, notebook, spoon) using a ruler as shown in the "I Can Measure Inches" activity and record measurements in the Measurement #1 and Measurement #2 columns. The lesson explicitly instructs students to measure each object twice and write both measurements down ("Make sure that she measures each object twice and writes both measurements down on the sheet"). The lesson also directs students to record the closer whole-inch measurement when an object falls between inches (e.g., write "5 inches" if closer to 5 than 4).
Lesson 3
Inches and Feet
Students are asked in Activity 1 to use a 12-inch ruler to measure or build multiple objects that are 1 ft, 2 ft, 3 ft, and 4 ft, and to practice lining up the ruler and re-positioning it to measure lengths longer than one ruler. The instructions have students find or create several objects matching given whole-unit lengths and allow measurements within about an inch or two, which addresses making measurements to typical whole-inch or whole-foot units. Activity 2 has students reason about when to use inches versus feet, reinforcing selection of appropriate whole-number units for measuring different objects.
Lesson 4
The Metric System, Too
Students measure the sides of an index card in centimeters and then check their guesses by measuring in inches, lining the card up at 0 on the ruler. Students use a meter stick to find and measure objects about a meter long and complete an "Exploring Meters" sheet, recording multiple objects as longer or shorter than a meter. The Skills list explicitly directs students to "Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths," which supports generating measurement data in different units.
Lesson 5
More Work With Measurement Units
Students measure their height and body parts in inches and centimeters and write those measures on a worksheet (Activity 2). Students search for and record multiple objects that are about an inch, foot, centimeter, and meter during the Measurement Hunt and are asked to find at least three objects for each unit (Activity 3). Students find objects matching specific whole-number lengths (e.g., 6 cm, 6 in, 12 cm, 12 in) and record the items on the "More Measurement Hunting!" sheet (Activity 4).
Lesson 6
Creating With Measurement
Students roll a die and use a ruler to draw straight lines that are a specified number of inches, producing multiple whole-number length lines (Activity 1). Students construct geoboard shapes with sides given in whole centimeters (9 cm, 15 cm, 6 cm, 12 cm, 18 cm, and a 25 cm side) and thus work with whole-unit lengths (Activity 2). Students sort and label units into Customary and Metric categories (inch, foot, yard, centimeter, meter), reinforcing identification of whole-unit length measures.
Lesson 8
Comparing Lengths
Students measure the length of a pencil and several kitchen items using both centimeters and inches and record those measurements in a table. Students measure the same object in two units and are reminded to measure the same part of each object and to measure twice. Students generate repeated measurement data when they shuffle number cards and measure and cut five pieces of ribbon (1–10 inches) and then pick pairs to measure and write subtraction sentences comparing their lengths.
Lesson 9
Gummy Worms and Measurement Data
Students measure the lengths of seven gummy worms in centimeters before and after stretching and record those measurements and differences on the "Gummy Worm Stretching" sheet (Activity 2). Students are instructed to create line plots for the before-and-after data, placing an X above each whole-number measurement and spacing the number line evenly, writing the smallest and largest whole-number values needed (Activity 3). Students also measure several drawn lines in inches with a ruler and plot each measurement with Xs on a line plot whose axis is marked in whole-number inch increments from 0 to 6 (Activity 4).
Lesson 10
Measurement Practice and Problem Solving
Students are asked in Activity 3 to use a ruler and a meter stick to find and measure objects of specified whole-unit lengths (1 foot, 1 meter, then 2, 3, 4 feet/meters), and to identify the shortest and longest things they measured. Activity 4 has students use the provided list of children's heights (in whole inches) to create a line plot on a number line marked in one-inch increments and answer questions about the plotted data. The Skills section explicitly lists measuring lengths with rulers/meter sticks and showing measurement data by making a line plot.
Final Project
Measurement in My World
Students measure multiple objects in three places (room, home, neighborhood) and record measurements on the "My Measurement Data" sheets, with instructions to use inches, centimeters, feet, and meters and to label units. Option 2 asks students to find six to eight objects in each place and to choose appropriate measurement tools, and Option 1 asks students to locate objects that match specified lengths (e.g., 6 centimeters) and to measure carefully, even measuring twice to check.
Unit 9: Data and Graphing
Lesson 1
Data Is Everywhere!
Activity 3 asks students to record the temperature each day on a Weather Data sheet and to make weather observations for several days, so students generate repeated measurement data. Activity 1 has students collect counts with tally marks and Day 2 identifies the number of cups sold each day and discusses a graph of daily sales. The unit states that students will show their collected data using different types of graphs.
Lesson 4
Line Plots
The lesson's Skills list explicitly states that students should "Generate measurement data by measuring lengths of several objects to the nearest whole unit" and "Show the measurements by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in whole-number units." Activity 4 directs students to use a ruler to measure several lines in centimeters, write each length, and place Xs on a provided line plot with a horizontal axis marked 1 through 6. The Student Activity Page description and answer key show students plotting Xs above whole-number centimeter marks to represent frequency.
Lesson 5
More Graphing Practice
Students record temperature measurements over multiple days (Activity 3) by writing the date and temperature in a Weather Data sheet and collecting nine days of data. In Activity 4, students are asked to decide whether to make a bar graph or a line plot for the temperature data, use laminated grid paper and a dry-erase marker to mark spaces for a line plot, and include a title and labels on their graph. Activity 2 also asks students to write numeric labels across the bottom and numeric counts on the left when making a bar graph, showing practice with whole-number labeling on graph axes.