Documentation Examples > Documentation Exhibition

Community and Measurement: Ms. Steinberg's 3rd graders find harmony in the classroom through math

School: Conservatory Lab Charter School, Brighton, MA

2. Beginning Measurements: Tall Tales

The class began by generating a table showing the height (in inches) of the children in the class. Each child was given a tape measure and was told to make sure he or she was measured and to help other people get measured. Some of the results were outrageous: one third grader (height 4?5?) was recorded as being over six feet tall!

Later, Ms. Steinberg and her class developed a better way to measure each other (using three people, one to stand still, one to hold the bottom of the tape against the floor, and one to read and record the inches at the top of the child's head), and made a second and more accurate draft of the table.