Instructional Lesson Plan

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Lesson Author: Alyana Lara Date: June 20, 2018

Grade Level: 3rd Grade

Subject Area: Mathematics, Visual Arts

Time Allotment: One hour a day for four days

Short Description:

In this lesson, students will examine different units of measurement in the U.S.
Customary system. They will be determining the differences between weights and masses
such as ounces and pounds, and they will also look at the variance in liquid volumes such as
cup and pint. Also, the students will participate in activities involving different
instruments of measurement, and throughout the lesson they will be assessed accordingly.
To showcase their understandings, the students are creating an individual and group
project that revolves around food.
Standards
Math Standard:
3.9 The student will estimate and use U.S. Customary and metric units to measure
b) liquid volume in cups, pints, quarts, gallons, and liters;
c) weight/mass in ounces, pounds, grams, and kilograms

Visual Arts Standard:

3.7 The student will use the following in works of art:
1. Color—intermediate, warm, cool
2. Space—positive, negative
5. Pattern—motifs

Instructional Outcomes:

The student will use problem solving, mathematical communication, mathematical

reasoning, connections, and representations to
• Determine the actual measure of liquid volume using U.S. Customary and metric units to
measure to the nearest cup, pint, quart, gallon, and liter.
• Determine the actual measure of weight/mass using U.S. Customary and metric units to
measure the weight/mass of objects to the nearest ounce, pound, gram, and kilogram.
Enduring Understandings/Essential Knowledge:

All students should

• Understand how to determine the actual measure of liquid volume, weight/mass

Essential Questions:

• What are different objects measured by?

• Why is it important to measure the weight of an object?
• How many ounces can fit in a pound?
• How many cups are in a pint?
• How many pints are in a gallon?

Vocabulary:

• Measurement
• Liquid Volume
• Weight (or Mass)
• Cup
• Pint
• Gallon
• Ounce
• Pound

Procedures
Lesson Set---Engage/Elicit: BEFORE

Focus Problem: Why do we weigh and measure objects?

First day:
• To begin the lesson, all of the students will
gather on the carpet to prepare for their
math lesson. “Today, we will be talking about
measurement. That’s a long word! Does anyone
know what the word “measurement” means?”
• Take out a scale or balance (with masses), and
a liquid measuring cup to display to the
students. “Have any of you seen these objects
before? If so, where do you see it and what is
it (or what do you think) it’s used for?”
 • The teacher will read the book “Me and the Measure of Things” by Joan Sweeney.
If the book is not available, access this “Martha Speaks” video:
http://pbskids.org/martha/stories/truestories/measureup_story.html to learn
about the importance of measurement.
• When the book or video is completed, review the questions that were asked in the
beginning about measurement. “Why do we weigh and measure objects?”

Rationale:

“Why do we measure? Measuring is important for many things in the real world such as
cooking a recipe, creating buildings, seeing how far or how long it takes to get somewhere,
and it’s even important in art and music! When you go to the doctor, they weigh you and
measure your height to make sure that you are strong and healthy. When people shop at
the grocery store for fruits and vegetables, they use the hanging scale to see how much
their food weighs. When people go on road trips, they put their destination in a GPS to
find how far it is from them and how long it will take to arrive. As you can see,
measurement is all around us!”

Techniques and Activities: DURING

Explore:
• Once the class discussion on the carpet is finished, have students go back to their
desks and pair up with their shoulder partners.
• Take out a scale or pan balance (with masses), and a liquid measuring cup to display
to the students. “Have any of you seen these objects before? If so, where do you
see it and what is it (or what do you think) it’s used for?”
• The students can also ask their own questions to the teacher about the equipment.
Once they have asked questions, the teacher will demonstrate how the pan balance,
scales, and measuring cups work.
• Have students pair-up with partners and practice using the balance. For the
balance, each student in a pair will take different masses (maximum of 3), and the
rest of the class will guess which student in the pair has the heavier weight. The
pair will put their masses on the balance to see which side is heavier and read out
 the masses. Each student in the pair should record their name and how much their
masses weighed in their math journals.

• For the scale students can weigh heavier

objects in the room, such as a big book or a
crate with objects in them. They will also
record these numbers in their journals.
• With the measuring cup, students can
practice measuring liquid volume. The teacher
can ask the students to obtain a specific amount
of water. “Can you put 3 cups of water in this
measuring cup?” The teacher will monitor the
students while they complete this activity, and
students will complete this in their pairs. The results of this activity do not have to
be recorded in their journals.

Explain:
*The Performance Assessment takes place in
this phase. *
• When every student has used the balance
and there have been at least 5 objects
weighed on the scale, the entire class will
create a big table to record their findings
for every student.
• On the Promethean/Smart Board, the
students can fill in the numbers that they
have gathered in their journals from the
previous activity. One table will be for
the balance activity, and the other will be
for the scale activity.
• Once they have created a table with all of their findings, an optional step to take
their data further is by making a chart of the objects weights from the scale. All
of the objects can be placed on the x-axis, and the weight will be recorded on the
y-axis. This can also be done for the balance data, but only using a few of the
measurements if the class size is large.
• Other questions can be asked about measurement, such as:
o Is there anything else that can be measured (time, distance, etc.)?
o Which objects were the heaviest on the scale?
o If you could weigh anything in the world, what would it be? Could it be a
building? An animal? The amount of water in a pond?
 o What is the best tool for measuring _____?
o How much do you think _______ weighs?

Elaborate:
• To further illustrate the measurement of liquid
volume, each student will create their own gallon
man. Each part of the gallon man will be cut,
labeled, colored, and either taped together or
glued to a larger piece of paper. This activity will
be completed on Day 2 of the lesson.
• Each group of students will also create a “recipe
box,” which will include the measurements of the
ingredients in a recipe they choose from the book
as well as the directions
for how to make it.
They will cut their own
“measuring cups” and
“scales” with cardstock to show how much of each
ingredient is needed (For example, they can draw a
measuring cup filled up to the 1 cup line for liquid
ingredients). A template of the measuring cups will be
provided for the students to use (as shown below in this
lesson) This activity will be completed on days 3 and 4 of
the lesson.
• Each student in the group (approximately 4
students to a group) will be in charge of a specific aspect
of the project. These roles are:
o Materials Manager: Responsible for
checking and collecting all materials
o Speaker: Responsible for presenting for the
group
o Time Keeper: Responsible for keeping the
group on task according to the time
o Recorder: Responsible for writing down
information gathered by the group
Lesson Closure: Evaluate Phase AFTER
On Day 4 of the lesson, the groups for the “recipe boxes” will present what their recipe
is and what measurements they used for them. The students can explain what types of
ingredients are in their box and how they should be measured.
• For example, a student might say “This ingredient is milk. We need 1 cup of milk for
this recipe. To measure it, we would use the liquid measuring cup.”
• “This is flour. We need 8 ounces of flour, so in order to measure it we would use
the scale.”
Assessment/Evaluation:
Formative assessments will be carried out throughout the lesson. These assessments
come from the various discussion questions that the teacher gives out as well as the
activities the students participate in, such as creating the class table of masses and the
creation of the gallon man. These activities will measure the students’ understandings of
measurement. In doing this differentiation, extension, and remediation can take place for
those students who are in need of them.

At the end of the lesson, a summative assessment will be used by looking at the “recipe
box” project they made by using the rubric below. This rubric will also be implemented
throughout the entirety of the lesson. Also, the teacher can provide feedback to
students during the lesson
by having individual and
group Q&A discussions.
Student Products:
The students will have created three different products:

• A “Table of Masses” from the whole class activity, written in their journals
• A “Recipe Box” project made in their small groups
• A “Gallon Man,” made individually.

Supplemental Activities:
Extensions:

For those students who need more of a challenge, they can create their own digital graph
of the data collected from the pan balance and scale activity. They can then print this
activity out and paste them to their math journals.

Directions:

1. Click on the link to access the “Create a Graph” Program:

https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
2. Click on the “Bar” option in the top row of options
3. DO NOT CHANGE ANY OPTIONS ON THE FIRST PAGE THAT LOADS. Click on
the “Data” tab on the right-hand side of the page.
4. Type the following in these boxes:
o Graph Title Box: “Measurements of
Masses”
o X-axis Label: Students
o Y-axis Label: Weight in Grams
o Items 1-5: Student Names
o Value: Students’ Masses
o Ignore “Data Set” and “Min/Max-
Value” Boxes
5. For those students who want to do a graph
on the weights of objects in the classroom,
they will change the x-axis label to
“Objects” and change the item boxes to
the name of each object.
6. Click on the “Preview” tab to check that
the data is correct. Call your teacher over when you have completed it so that they
can check your work.
7. When the graph is finished, click the “Print/Save” tab and print the graph. Cut and
paste your graph to a new page in your math journal.
Remediation:

For those students who need remediation, students can access Splash Math to help with
learning about the different units of measurement.

https://www.splashmath.com/math-skills/third-grade/measurements/weight-and-
capacity-customary-units

The first link is an activity that has students pick between two options for weighing
different objects. For example, if a picture of a pool is displayed, the options the
students could pick would be pounds or gallons. The student would have to click the
correct option.

https://www.splashmath.com/math-skills/third-grade/measurements/read-data-from-a-
bar-graph

This second link is an activity for those students who need help understanding how bar
graphs work, so that they can understand the graphs that the students in extension are
making. The activity shows a bar graph on each slide and asks a specific question
pertaining to the graph. For example, a graph will show the amount of times four children
won a prize for a game. The activity will ask “Which person won the most prizes?” and the
student will pick the option according to what the graph is showing them.

Accommodating for Special Learners:

Learners with Disabilities:

• Provide manipulatives that accommodate to the child’s specific needs (considering

the size of the manipulative, shape, colors/patterns, etc.)
• Make font sizes on handouts larger
• Laptop computers or iPads can and should be utilized if needed for activities
• Work in small groups during individual activities, inclusiveness when working as a
whole class
• Provide assistance when working with scales, pan balances, and measuring cups
• Students can have digital math journals by using Classroom Dojo in lieu of hard
copies

Gifted Learners:

• If they finish early, provide a math activities bin with extra activities that
students can complete and put into their math journals
• Provide a list of interactive websites that the students can visit for enrichment
 • Have students in tiered grouping and have them work on one activity together (such
as the extension activity provided)

ELLs:

• Provide translations of the measurements and measuring tools in their native

language and in English
• Work with ELLs in a small group with other students in the class to encourage
communication
• If possible, have Classroom Dojo’s primarily language on the student’s account
changed to their native language
• Make several lesson visuals to provide, whether individually or to hang throughout
the classroom
• Allow for scaffolding and communication with the ESL teacher

Learners with Special Needs and Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia:

• Provide worksheets with a bigger font and provide extra graphing paper
• Allow these students to work with the scale, pan balance, and measuring cup
activities more after the whole class activity ends
• Give instructions orally instead of on paper and provide visuals throughout lesson
• Provide manipulatives that accommodate to the child’s specific needs (considering
the size of the manipulative, shape, colors/patterns, etc.)
• Students can have digital math journals by using Classroom Dojo in lieu of hard
copies

Differentiated Instruction:
Content:

• Questions will be provided in the format of Bloom’s Taxonomy, taking into

consideration each step of Bloom’s. Some examples include:
o Remembering: List the different units of measurement.
o Understanding: Compare cups from pints.
o Applying: Demonstrate how to use the pan balance.
o Analyzing: Explain the difference between grams and ounces.
o Evaluating: Predict what would happen when you put 16 ounces on one side of
the balance and 1 pound on the other.
o Creating: Design a “Recipe Box” with your provided recipes and
measurements.

Process:
 • Tiered grouping, cooperative grouping, and flexible grouping will take place
• Partners and small groups will also be heavily utilized throughout the lesson
• One-on-one instruction will be provided to students that need it, and
accommodations will be considered

Products:

• Each of the gallon men will be unique to what the student wants in terms of colors
• The “recipe boxes” are also products of the students’ work, each box will be unique
to the group it belongs to
• All students will have a table of their class’ data available to put into their math
journals along with the graphs from the extension

Environment:

• Flexible seating arrangements will be in place during group work and when the
students are with their partners
• Movement will be encouraged in the class during the “Engage” phase of the lesson
• Throughout the lesson, students can take “Brain Breaks” for a short amount of
time between activities

Resources
Materials and resources needed for this lesson
1. “Me and the Measure of Things” by Joan Sweeney
2. Pan Balance and Masses
3. Scale
4. Measuring Cups
5. Math Journals
For the Gallon Man
6. Gallon Man Worksheet from Education.com:
https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/gallon-man/
7. Scissors
8. Glue or tape
9. Crayons, Colored Pencils, and/or Markers
For the Recipe Box
10. Spare shoeboxes
11. Construction Paper
12. Cardstock
13. Crayons, Colored Pencils, and/or Markers
14. Scissors
15. A recipe from “The Math Chef” by Joan D’Amico and Karen Eich Drummond
 16. Measuring Cup Template from Bonlacfoods.com:
http://bonlacfoods.com/worksheet/worksheets-measuring-cups-and-spoons-4.html
Technology resources needed for this lesson
17. Promethean/Smart Board
18. Computer
Web Addresses needed for this lesson:
19. http://pbskids.org/martha/stories/truestories/measureup_story.html
20. https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
21. https://www.splashmath.com/math-skills/third-grade/measurements/read-data-from-a-
bar-graph
22. https://www.splashmath.com/math-skills/third-grade/measurements/weight-and-capacity-
customary-units

Lesson Plan adapted from:

Attach two peer reviews:

Elizabeth Mendenhall:
Some of the sentences were separated or covered up by the images, but that may just be my
computer viewing it wrong. I really liked your rationale it seemed well thought out. I loved
the way it connected measurement, distance, and weight to the students everyday world. I
liked your added step of getting students working with graphing. I think that is a great idea
to expand students knowledge especially if they are working ahead so they don't just get
bored. I like the usage of the measuring cup especially if there were a sink in the classroom.
Though the teacher may want to be near that station to prevent messes but students love
getting to use the same instruments their parents may use when cooking. I love your idea of
the recipe box and presenting them as well as using them as a summative assessment. I
thought your lesson plan was easy to read through and seemed like great activities that cover
the NCTM process standards well. Overall I think you're doing a great job!

Stephanie Leone:
*Note: Stephanie provided a separate word document with comments, so all of her comments
from the margin will be listed here in bullet form. *
• Is this crossed out because you are not going to go over this part during the lesson? I
assume the same with metric units? (See “Standards,” Pg. 1)
• I think that it would be beneficial for the teacher to demonstrate how to use a
balance first, and then have students practice. (See “Procedures,” under
“Engage/Elicit,” Pg. 2)
• It would be helpful to determine which one (See “Procedures,” under “Engage/Elicit,”
Pg. 3)
• This was all mentioned in the engage part of the lesson (See “Techniques and
Activities, under “Explore,” Pg. 3)
• A good supplemental activity for gifted students could be having them work together
to create a bar graph to show the weights of these objects (See “Techniques and
Activities, under “Explain,” Pg. 4)
• Maybe ask students to estimate what these objects weigh, or what the best tool would
be to measure this (See “Techniques and Activities, under “Explore,” Pg. 4)
• I love this activity! (See “Techniques and Activities, under “Elaborate,” Pg. 5)
• It says that the lesson is for 5 days, but I’m not sure if you have enough activities for
5 full days. (See “Lesson Closure: Evaluate Phase,” Pg. 5)