Description
What our Relating to Length lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Relating to Length introduces students to the strategies they can use when solving word problems related to length. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve word problems involving lengths that are given in the same units; use drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number. This lesson is for students in 2nd grade and 3rd grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the blue box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand.
Options for Lesson
Included with this lesson is an “Options for Lesson” section that lists a number of suggestions for activities to add to the lesson or substitutions for the ones already in the lesson. Several of the optional adjustments for this lesson relate to the activity. For the activity, you could have your students create their word problems using objects from outdoors. You could also add specific problems for students to create for the activity. Instead of rulers, you could have your students use meter, yard sticks, or tape measures for the activity. For the homework page, you could have your students solve the first 10 questions. You could also have your students create additional word problems for homework based on items from home.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page includes a paragraph with additional guidelines and things to think about as you begin to plan your lesson. This page also includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.
RELATING TO LENGTH LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Basic Addition and Subtraction
The Relating to Length lesson plan includes two content pages. Addition is adding numbers or different items together to find the sum. The numbers you add together are called addends. Many of the numbers you add are usually less than 100.
Subtraction is the opposite of addition. Subtraction is taking one number away from another number to find the difference. The first number in a subtraction problem is called a minuend, while the second number is called a subtrahend. The numbers you subtract are usually less than 100.
People add and subtract numbers every day! When you look at a clock at school, you might add or subtract minutes to determine how much time is left in your class. If you go to the store, you might add the prices of things together or subtract the total cost from the amount of money you have.
Did you know that you also use addition and subtraction to measure the length of objects?
Adding and Subtracting Lengths
Often, when adding and subtracting, the problem relates to a story. For example: If you have 14 pieces of candy and later 5 pieces remain, how many pieces have you eaten? This is a word problem. How do you solve it?
You know you are starting with 14 pieces and later, only 5 pieces remain, so 5 is your new total. Some pieces were eaten or “taken away” which means you need to subtract a number from 14 to get your new total, 5. What can you take away from 14 to equal 5? You could also draw a picture to help solve. The lesson shows 14 circles, each representing a piece of candy. How many circles do you take away to get 5 circles left? The answer is 9! Therefore, 14 – 9 = 5.
Using symbols and other drawings can help you solve all types of word problems, including those related to length. Since you can measure length using inches, feet, centimeters, meters, or other units, you can use a ruler, a straight line, or other symbols or drawings to help you solve problems involving length.
Example Problem 1
Let’s take a look at an example. The baby worm was just 3 inches long when Elise found it. The adult worm is now 11 inches long. How many inches did the worm grow? Three plus what number equals 11 inches? Eight, because 3 + 8 = 11. Therefore, the worm grew 8 inches.
You could draw a picture of the baby worm and the adult worm to help you solve this problem. Next, write an equation showing the missing number—which is the number equal to how many inches the worm grew.
Pictures and symbols can be useful to for solving many addition and subtraction problems related to length, whether they’re easy or hard. To solve, take it one step at a time, reread the problem, and use drawings and symbols when needed.
Example Problem 2
Let’s take a look at another example. During the week, Noah ran about 15 miles. Annie ran five less than Noah. Liz ran 3 more than Annie. How many miles did Liz run? You know that Noah ran 15 miles, and Annie ran 5 less than Noah, so you subtract: 15 – 5 = ?.
15 – 5 = 10, which you can then use to figure out how many miles Elizabeth ran. Elizabeth ran 3 more miles than Annie, who ran 10, so the equation is: 10 + 3 = ?. Finally, solve! 10 + 3 = 13, so Elizabeth ran 13 miles.
Now that you’ve solved this problem, you can answer some more questions. Let’s take a look at some question you could be asked about this problem.
How many total miles did the three children run? To solve, add the miles: 15 + 10 + 13 = 38 miles. Who ran the most number of miles? Since 15 is greater than both 10 and 13, Noah ran the most miles. Who ran the least number of miles? Since 10 is less than both 13 and 15, Annie ran the least miles. How many more miles did Noah run than Liz? To solve, subtract Liz’s from Noah’s: 15 – 13 = 2 miles more. How many miles in all did Annie and Liz run? To solve, add Annie’s and Liz’s miles: 10 + 13 = 23 miles.
Adding and subtracting numbers without words is often simpler than solving a word problem. However, when solving word problems related to length, remember that you can always use drawings, pictures, and symbols to help you solve the problems correctly. Always take your time, work the problem step-by-step, and double-check your work.
RELATING TO LENGTH LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Relating to Length lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.
CREATING WORD PROBLEMS ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
Students will work with a partner to complete the activity worksheet. Each pair will use objects in the classroom to create five word problems related to length. After creating the word problems, they will solve the problem using drawings, symbols, and equations. Once they complete each word problem, they will give them to another pair of students to solve.
WORD PROBLEMS PRACTICE WORKSHEET
For the practice worksheet, students will solve six word problems using drawings and symbols.
RELATING TO LENGTH HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The homework assignment asks students to match the questions to the correct equations needed to solve problems. They will also create two word problems using the given information.
Worksheet Answer Keys
This lesson plan includes answer keys for the practice worksheet and the homework assignment. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
