More Measurement Fun With Paper Clips

Welcome to My  Blog Post!!

More Measurement Fun

With Paper Clips

Paper clips come in many sizes and colors

 Do you wish your students could experience more hands-on activities with easy prep? In this posting, I hope to generate ideas about using paper clips

as a manipulative, since they are easily accessible in your classroom.

--> You may have regular jumbo and regular size paper clips and/or those sizes in color. It is interesting to see students make assumptions and predictions about the measurement unit if they are different in color or size.

Small clips

Jumbo clips

 Same object but two different sizes of paper clips. What do you notice?

A few things to consider when measuring paper clips or any other unit of measurement:

1. Review and establish how to measure an object, such being sure to line up the paper clip or any unit of measure so they touch end to end, with no gaps or overlaps between objects.

2. Give time at this point, for questions and clarification of how to properly use any measuring tool, and specifically paper clips.

3. If you believe it would be beneficial, do a practice measurement as a group before having them work on the activity.

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 4. Do you wish to use the activity as the whole group, small group, partner or independent work, math center or another idea that works for you?

How tall? colored clips

Color clips--How tall?

       Measuring the height of objects with colored clips.

Both jumbo and small clips

Ask the students to estimate about how many (large or small) paper clips the pattern block might be. Can they prove their estimate is close? Does that estimate change when you use large clips versus the small clips? I love to hear the students discuss their estimation and prediction thinking prior to the actual measurement. Assess by asking-do they use what they learned when they estimate the next time?

Gathering Materials

Gather the materials you want to use and put in containers. If you are having small groups, make sure you have containers for each of those groups. If you are later using as a math center, you will not need as many containers. I usually have a separate container for each size/kind of paper clip and a container for the materials to measure, which I put on each table if doing a whole class group lesson.

Record Observations

Have the children record their finding on the recording sheet. If they have journals, they could glue them into their journals. They love to find their own objects and do the activity with those objects. If no more space on this record sheet, they could use the blank sheet.

These are the recording sheets available to use. 

Think of other ways you can incorporate measurement into other math skills such as addition, subtraction, estimation, prediction, etc. You can use the same materials and add the extension activity to include addition and/or subtraction by asking them ‘How many total paper clips long or tall are 2 of your measured objects -Write an equation to show your thinking.’ A subtraction extension might be ‘ Which of those objects if taller (or longer? How much taller or longer? Write an extension to prove it.’

*Another idea I have done if make the activity a comparison estimation. Let’s say after you have measured a glue stick, the goal is to find something else in the room they estimate to be about the same number of paper clips long or tall.

Using Links as Manipulative Material

Beginning of the Year

Welcome to My First Blog Post!!

MATH STATION MATERIALS

Using Links

Welcome to my new math blog! After years of teaching, I hope to now help teachers and parents, as well as others interested in free and inexpensive math activities, foster the love of math in children. Thank you for stopping by to visit; please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments about ideas you have used with similar materials. Let’s get started!

My beginning blogs will relate best to students in Grades K-2, but in the future, I will include ideas for 3rd and 4th graders too. You will find my materials on TeachersPayTeachers at makemathmagic.com. These materials will be either free or inexpensive as I know teachers spend a great deal of their personal money to create engaging activities for the students in their classrooms.

For my first blog post, I would like to share the material called ‘Links’.  Links can have multi-purposes so I made these activities to be not just a one-time activity. Your time is valuable so let’s get as much mileage as possible with the same material. Links, as most hands-on materials are not only fun and engaging but also a way, to get everyone excited about math as they are hands on and encourage ‘math talk’ with peers.

In the beginning of each year, I like to establish usage guidelines for all the hands-on manipulative materials we will be using throughout the year. Some of the materials may be new to students or I may have different expectations and uses from their prior experiences. Initially, I introduce and model each manipulative material to the whole group. Then it can be used as an activity either with a partner, small groups, or independently, in a rotation choice station.

Linking by color
It is worth spending this extra time in the beginning of the year so that each child knows the guidelines and proper uses; this also allows you the time in the future to work with other students, conferencing, or in some other capacity instead of being the ‘station guard’.

Many of you may not have links in your room but do not worry. Any materials that have 4 attributes will work just fine. Some examples include square links, colored paper clips (Dollar Tree), unifix cubes, counters (teddy bear, colored circles, etc…).

Suggestions to Get You Off to Great Start

Be sure to give students time to explore the links, especially if they haven’t had prior experience with them. In this lesson, I used oval links, but you may have other types of links, such as square links. When exploring they may string them together which is fine but later be sure to distinguish how to properly use as a math tool and not free constructing time.

                These are the free exploring things I designed.                                     

Review the idea of ‘patterns’ and discuss the naming of patterns, such as ABC, 123, etc.

I have used this activity with both small groups and as a rotating center. It is helpful to introduce this activity at the beginning of the year in order for students to understand how to correctly use the links (otherwise, they tend to just make designs or strings as in free exploring) and to become familiar with ideas of naming and identifying patterns.

For this particular patterning activity, you will need links or materials with 4 different attributes and pattern cards. There is also a blank sheet for you to make your own patterns, using numbers or other symbols instead of letters-ABCD, or children can write their own ideas. Please download the freebie at my teacherspayteachers store-MakeMathMagic  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Make-Math-Magic  and use in whatever manner works for you.

AB and ABC Pattern Cards

ABB and AABCDD Pattern Cards


Directions

1. Turn all the cards face down. Depending upon the level of your students, you may wish to separate and use only some of the pattern cards. For instance, the most simplistic pattern is AB; some are more sophisticated such as ABCDBBD. You decide when and how is the most appropriate use of the cards.

2. Once the students have decided which color link is going to be an A-B-C-D, they are ready to represent that pattern with the links, or whatever material they are using. They need to reproduce the pattern at least2 to 3 times in order to show they understand that the pattern continues in that order.

3. Ask the students to do several pattern cards and then share their thinking with a friend or partner. If friend or partner agrees, they may move on to other cards.

4. You can decide if you want them to select 2 or 3 of their patterns to draw in their journals. When I did this, I discouraged using it as an ‘art project’  but rather encouraged them to simply show and name the patterns. An example might be to draw a line in that color to represent the Link color.

ABC      A     B    C    A        B      C

Pattern Cards

Blank Pattern Car

I initially made these pattern cards to be used with Links but have used them for other activities such as sorting, categorizing, etc. I introduce Links at the beginning of the year, so we can properly use them later for adding, subtracting, multiplication arrays. At the end of this posting, I will have photos of ways I have used Links for 1 to 1 counting, adding, subtraction and multiplication arrays.

Pattern Cards Included