The third grade recently embarked on their Measurement Main Lesson, which included skill-building, hands-on experiences with distance, height, width, weight and time measurement calculations as well as money.

The class handled various currencies from over 20 different countries (such as Nepal, Jordan, Indonesia, Denmark, and South Africa), noting their artwork and historical figures. They practiced using currency from the United States by creating a “shop” in their classroom, complete with a bank, book store, food shop, and a game store.

When studying different forms of measurement, the class explored both the metric and imperial systems. To define measurement, the students lined up in different configurations—by height and age (youngest to oldest and vice versa). When introducing measurement conversions, Ms. Niiva provided the students with a long string (1 meter in length) and asked them to find trees that had an exact circumference of 1 meter. The students were then tasked with finding trees that were half the size of 1 meter (50 centimeters). They measured the length and width of their classroom, the hallway, and also explored weights (grams, kilograms, ounces, and pounds). Ms. Niiva also related the measurement systems to various parts of the body, such as a hair’s width to a millimeter, etc. The students were then interested in measuring everything! They quickly realized that measurements are embedded in so many parts of our daily lives.

Building on their time telling skills from second grade, the students dug deeper into time by exploring durations—how long a minute can actually feel. They analyzed the following poem,

The hour-hand and the minute-hand upon a polished dial
A meeting planned at twelve o'clock to walk and talk awhile.
The Hour-hand with the Minute-hand could never keep apace.
“The speed at which you move,” he said, “is really a disgrace!”

Then laughed the Minute-hand and sang, “The way that I must go
Is marked with milestones all along, and there are twelve, you know.
And I must call at each of these before my journey's done,
While you are creeping like a snail from twelve o'clock to one.
So now, farewell! But we shall meet again, good sir,” said he,
“The road that we are following is circular, you see!”

Along with money and measurement, the third graders will explore other “life skills” this year, such as cultivation of food, building of shelters and the manufacture of garments. By gaining experience in these life skills, students begin to see the world objectively, which demystifies it and contributes to their confidence and ability to engage with the world around them. Click here to view photos and videos from this main lesson.