Tricks to Remember Measurement Units

Brain research teaches us that making a connection to something familiar helps students remember.

My students were recently working on linear measurement. One of the important concepts is remembering the different units, and having a good "feel" for the size of the units. 

Here's one of the connections we make:

.

My kiddos are VERY familiar with the base ten blocks. It's an important part of second grade math, so we use them frequently. 

Another trick I teach them: 

a centimeter is about the size of an M&M! 

They always remember that one!

Here's another connection:

Again, they're quite familiar with those base ten blocks, and have often lined up two of the longs, so it's easy for them to estimate something that is 20 centimeters long!

Since the metric system isn't standard in the US, here's a connection for inches:

This trick for a foot was taught to me by one of our former custodians. 

Those custodians are pretty smart! The floor tiles they used in our school are exactly a square foot each! That makes measuring our floor super easy! Of course the kids have to get out the rulers and see for themselves, but it's true! Plus it sure helps the kids remember how big a foot is. 

You know what else helps them remember a foot?A ruler!

 

How do you help your students remember measurement units?

Band aid or Lasso?

Do you have students who use apostrophes for everything that ends in s?

I remind my kids to think: does the apostrophe works as a band-aid or a lasso. If it doesn't, it's not needed. 

I don't claim the band aid story. My students gave it to me, but it sure is clever! They told me the apostrophe is like the band aid in contractions. Since the two words were squashed into one, some of the letters popped out, and the band aid is needed to heal the spot where the letters popped out. Of course, this story has evolved, and now I tell them certain letters were "surgically removed." They really enjoy saying "surgically removed," so I enhance the story to keep their attention. I also mention that the surgery doesn't hurt at all, in fact, it tickles! If you listen closely, you can hear the letters giggling.

I do claim the lasso story as my own. When teaching possessives, I make sure the kids know the word "possess" means to own or have something. I'll get into stories of rodeos, telling them how cowboys throw their lasso and claim their cattle. I show them pictures I've googled of cowboys and lassos. In a possessive, the noun with the 's owns the following item. (or nearby, in the case of an adjective) I even get into turning the apostrophe into a lasso and circling the next word.  They practice this on their whiteboards (I'm a whiteboard fanatic!) and love to draw the lassos. 

Naturally, if the word they're thinking about doesn't need a band aid or a lasso, they shouldn't be using an apostrophe. 

We know how these little stories help the children remember. After 35+ years of teaching, I have lots of little stories and "tricks up my sleeve." Recent brain research shows us these little stories help make the connections in the brain so the children can build their knowledge. Plus, it's fun! 

One of my favorite resources has this Band-Aid/ Lasso theme. It has these two stories to help the children remember when to use apostrophes, and has 4 activities to practice contractions, plurals, and possessives.

Explore the image or here: 

Band-Aid or Lasso?

 

 How do you help your students remember when to use the apostrophe and when NOT to use it?