Visual Comparision of Measurements

How many times do students write down the answer.. 8 square yards and they don't have a clue about how large that amount of space really is?  It is just something that you write to get the correct answer.

That's why I created a display like this with some 4th Grade students so they could actually visualize the amount of space that is covered by one square foot, one square yard, and one square meter. In addition, the display shows the length of one meter, one yard and one foot.

 An easy way to create a classroom display like this is to assign different measurement to small groups of students. "Your assignment is to make a model of one square yard." 

If all the teachers at your grade level feel that their students would benefit from this display... place it in the hallway near your classes. Then take the time to discuss it with your students.

(Those green characters are inchworms based on the book "Inch by Inch" by Leo Lionni.")

Deborah