We began exploring measurement more in depth this week. One day during our small group time, we had a fun lesson about the importance of using consistent methods of measurement. We read How Big is a Foot ?, which is a story about a King who orders a custom-made bed for his wife, the Queen. Unfortunately, in this story, no standard form of measurement exists! When the King orders a bed that is 3 feet by 6 feet and the carpenter measures 3 feet by 6 feet with his own small feet, the final product is not big enough for the Queen! We experimented by using our own foot lengths to measure the Queen's bed. We traced, cut and used our own foot shapes to create a bed for the queen- 3 feet by 6 feet. Teacher Kathleen was kind enough to act as the queen, so she tested out the small bed we made. Unfortunately, the bed was not big enough! Many of us predicted that the King had bigger feet, so he must have measured a bed that was larger. We read more and sure enough, the king had bigger feet! We measured a bed using the size of the King's foot (12 inches) and we discovered that the bed was much bigger! Teacher Kathleen played the role of the queen again and tested out the bed. It was just right this time! Now, we could definitely see how it is important to have standard forms of measurement! We will continue to talk about measurement, discussing attributes to be measured and comparing these attributes using informal and formal methods!
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