How Big Is a Foot?

Objective:  
Introduce unit of measurement:  foot.  

Materials: How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller,  ruler,  and computer with Internet connection.  

Book Overview: 
The King wants to give the Queen something special for her birthday. She has everything except a bed. The trouble is that no one in the Kingdom knows the answer to a very important question: How big is a bed? At that time beds had not yet been invented. The Queen's birthday is only a few days away. An apprentice gets in trouble and needs to find a solution.
Procedure:   

  1. The teacher will begin by reviewing standard units of measurement.

  2.  Review inch and ruler use.  

  3. Ask students to tell what types of things they measure with inches.  Set purpose for reading:  What can we use to measure longer objects like furniture?  

  4. Read story.  

  5. Discuss problem and solution.  

  6. Introduce that there are twelve inches in a foot. 

Web Activities:  Continue work on Measurement Book Project  (see Web Activities).

Assessment:   Have students list objects they might measure with a foot. 

Home Learning:  Choose five things and measure with a foot.  

Extension Activity:

Tell the children they will now measure themselves using their feet, just like the king and the carpenter in the story. Arrange the children into groups of two or three and have one of them lie down on a large piece of newsprint or butcher paper. Use the watercolor markers to trace a rough outline of the child. The team then each measures the length and width of the outline as if to make a bed. Have them record their measurements on the paper and compare the amounts. Then repeat for the other members of the team.


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