A Morning For Measurement At Head O’ Meadow

By Eliza Hallabeck

After hearing two books read to them, first grade students at Head O’ Meadow on Friday, December 11, learned new measuring skills during the school’s 12th annual Measurement Morning.

With 80 first grade students and ten adults surrounding her, Head O’ Meadow teacher Anne Annesley explained to the group meeting in the school’s library that they were about to hear two books about measurement.

The first book Ms Annesley read was The Crocodile’s Coat by Calvin Irons.

“It’s a story about length,” said Ms Annesley. “We’re going to have to make him a coat.”

The second book was Fishy Scales, also by Calvin Irons.

“We’re going to see how much they weigh,” explained Ms Annesley about the fish characters in the book.

After listening to Ms Annesley read the books, students were divided into groups, and parents followed their child through four classrooms. Inside each, a new measurement skill was demonstrated to the first graders.

Math/science specialist Gail Maletz said the first Measurement Morning was held in 1998.

“The idea came to be because we wanted to expose students to the different ideas of measurement,” said Ms Maletz.

In one room students learned about capacity by measuring how much rice different objects could hold. In another classroom students learned how to measure length with the help of a SmartBoard. On the SmartBoard during one activity a screen of a basketball court was pulled up, and students guessed how many basketballs would cover the court when lined one next to the other. To check their guesses students took turns, overseen by teacher Jill Dunn, using their fingers to glide basketballs on the SmartBoard screen to the next place in the line of basketballs.

“We came up with this sort of festival idea,” said Ms Maletz, “where we could get everyone involved.”

In another room students learned how to measure weight by using a balancing scale, and in the fourth room students guessed how many cheerios would fit in a drawing of their hand.

Ms Maletz said the day is a favorite of students, and added older students, when they see her pushing the Measurement Morning cart, point and say they remember the morning from when they were in first grade.