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Lesson plan Grade 1 Math

Shoalbrook Boardwalk Cleanup: A Grade 1 Stick Measuring Lesson

A 45-minute grade 1 lesson where students measure marked cleanup strips along a marsh boardwalk rail by laying craft sticks end to end with no gaps.

Objectives

  1. Students will measure a marked strip by laying same-size sticks end to end and counting them.
  2. Students will explain why gaps or overlaps change the count.
  3. Students will compare two strips using their stick lengths.

Vocabulary

Key words: measure, unit, gap, overlap, boardwalk, litter

Teacher overview

Shoalbrook is a made-up coastal town with a wooden boardwalk along a marsh, and wind pushes cups, wrappers, and plastic bags up against the boardwalk rail until volunteers clear them. Volunteers split the rail into short strips so every group knows exactly which piece belongs to it, and each strip is described by how many sticks long it is because nobody carries a tape measure. That gives students a purpose for laying same-size units end to end. The misconception this lesson targets is the idea that measuring means counting units no matter how they are placed, so a student who leaves small gaps between sticks reports a shorter length and a student who overlaps them reports a longer one, and both believe their count. Both errors are staged deliberately during direct instruction.

Procedure

Hook (5 min): Tape one strip on the floor and ask two volunteers to find out how long it is using craft sticks, without any instruction about how to place them. Record the two counts on the board even when they disagree, and ask the class how one strip can have two lengths.

Direct instruction (10 min): Lay sticks along the strip three ways in front of the class. First with gaps, then with overlaps, then end to end from the very start of the strip to the very end. Count aloud each time and write the three counts on the board. State the rule the class will use: sticks must touch, must not stack on each other, and must start at the beginning of the strip. Finish by laying one noticeably longer stick along the same strip and counting again, so the class has seen that a bigger unit takes fewer copies before handout question 7 and the exit ticket ask about it.

Guided practice (15 min): Pairs rotate through the four taped strips, measuring each one with their own sticks and recording the count on scrap paper. One partner places sticks while the other watches for gaps and overlaps, then they trade for the next strip.

Independent practice (10 min): Students complete the seven handout questions on their own. These questions describe other volunteers' measurements in words, so students reason about someone else's placement rather than repeating their own.

Closure / exit ticket (5 min): Hold up one long stick beside one short stick and ask whether measuring the same strip with the long stick would give a bigger number or a smaller number. Students write "bigger" or "smaller" on an index card. Anything below about four fifths correct means the closing question is worth repeating with the taped strip the next day.

Shoalbrook Boardwalk Cleanup: A Grade 1 Stick Measuring Lesson — Grade 1 Math
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Handout

Sticks must touch. Sticks must not stack. Start at the beginning of the strip.

  1. Mia lays sticks along Strip A. She leaves no gaps. She counts 9 sticks. How long is Strip A?
  2. Ben lays sticks along Strip B. He leaves no gaps. He counts 6 sticks. How long is Strip B?
  3. Strip A is 9 sticks long. Strip B is 6 sticks long. Which strip is longer?
  4. Strip A is 9 sticks long. Strip B is 6 sticks long. How many more sticks long is Strip A?
  5. Kai leaves gaps between his sticks on Strip A. He counts 7 sticks. Mia leaves no gaps on the same strip and counts 9 sticks. Which count tells the true length?
  6. Strip C is 5 sticks long. Strip D is 5 sticks long. Are the two strips the same length? Write yes or no.
  7. Rosa measures Strip B with longer sticks. Strip B was 6 short sticks long. Will Rosa count more than 6 sticks or fewer than 6 sticks?

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key
  1. Answer: 9 sticks. The sticks touch and cover the whole strip, so the count is the length.
  2. Answer: 6 sticks. The sticks touch and cover the whole strip, so the count is the length.
  3. Answer: Strip A. Nine sticks is more than six sticks, and both strips were measured with the same size stick.
  4. Answer: 3 sticks. 9 minus 6 equals 3, so Strip A is 3 sticks longer than Strip B.
  5. Answer: Mia's count of 9 sticks. Kai's gaps leave uncovered pieces of the strip, so his count is too small.
  6. Answer: Yes. Both strips took the same number of same-size sticks, so they are equal in length.
  7. Answer: Fewer than 6 sticks. A longer stick covers more of the strip each time, so it takes fewer of them.

Differentiation

Support

Give these students a strip with faint stick-length marks already printed along it so the placement is guided, and let them answer questions 1 and 2 by measuring a real taped strip instead of reading the written scenario. Work question 5 aloud with them using two rows of sticks.

Extension

Ask these students to measure one strip twice, once with craft sticks and once with linking cubes, record both counts, and write one sentence saying which unit gave the larger number and why that happens.

ELL supports

Demonstrate "gap" and "overlap" physically before any words are read, leaving an obvious space between two sticks for one and sliding one stick on top of another for the other, and keep both demonstrations taped to a poster. Provide the frame "Strip ___ is ___ sticks long" for every written answer.

Extensions

Measure the length of the classroom sink counter or a hallway bench in craft sticks, then in shoe lengths, and post both numbers with a sentence explaining why the same object has two different measurements.