Educator's Name:                   Sandra Jo Murphy

School:                                    Caledonia Elementary

School District:                      Lowndes County

Student Grade Level:            4-5

Subject:                                   Science

Title of Lesson Plan:               The Mini Olympics

Unit/Theme:                           Developing the Process of Measurement

Competency Number:

# 10            Develop a process of measurement and the concepts related to units of measurements.

Objectives:                            

A - Identify the attributes of length, weight, capacity/volume, mass, time, and

      temperature.

B - Computer research to discover the history, motto, and the revival of the Olympic

      Games.

Instructional Format:            4-5 member teams

Prior Preparation:               Have students discover--What do the five Olympic rings

represent?  When did the games begin?  How long ago was that?  What is the motto?

How is the flame kept burning?  The flame is a symbol of what?  Trace the beginning of

the games to present times.

Have students go to MAGNOLIA and click on Grolier Online.  Once there, students can

do a word search by typing in "Olympics" and "Olympic Games."  There are numerous

relevant links, such as "Important Dates in the History of the Modern Olympic Games

(Facts at a Glance)," "Olympic Game Profiles," "Ancient Greece," and "The Winter

Olympics."  Students can answer the worksheet questions listed under "Lesson Plans."

Materials Needed:

Paper plates

Cotton Balls

Drinking straws

M & M candies or marbles

Sponges

Containers of water

Tape Measures

Meter sticks

Balances

Graduated cylinders

Ice cubes

Popsicle sticks

Thermometers

Chart paper for recording the guess, actual measure, and score for each team

Mini Metric Olympics Worksheets

Duration of Activity:                     several days

Activities:

Big Foot Contest, Paper Plate Discus, Cotton Ball Shot Put, Drinking Straw Javelin,

Right-Handed M&M Grab, Left-Handed Sponge Squeeze, How Hot is Hot, and Ice Cube

Curling

Task Cards:

Big Foot Contest -- Estimate the length of your "big foot" from heel to big toe in

millimeters and record the answer.  Now measure the actual length of your foot using the

official meter tape and record the answer.  Determine the score and the record.

 

 

Paper Plate Discus -- Estimate the distance you can throw a "paper plate discus" and

record the answer in meters.  Now throw the plate from the starting line as far as you can.

Measure the actual distance in meters using the official meter stick or trundle wheel and

record the answer.  Determine the score and record.

 

Cotton Ball Shot Put -- Estimate the distance you can throw a "cotton ball shot put" and

record the answer in centimeters.  Now throw the cotton ball from the starting line and

record the distance using the official meter tape.  Determine the score and record.

 

Paper Straw Javelin -- Estimate the distance you can throw a "paper straw javelin" and

record the answer in centimeters.  Now throw the cotton ball from the starting line and

record the distance using official meter tape.  Determine the score and record.

 

Right-Handed M&M Grab -- Estimate the number of M&Ms you can pick up with your

right hand and record the total number.  Now pick up one handful of M&Ms with your

right hand and count the exact number and record.  Determine the score and record. 

Alternatively, you might estimate and find the actual mass of the M&Ms with a gram

balance.

 

Left-Handed Sponge Squeeze -- Estimate the volume of water in milliliters you can

squeeze with your left hand from a wet sponge and record.  Place a small sponge in a

bucket of water.  Squeeze it to make sure that it is completely wet.  Quickly pickup the

sponge with your left-hand and squeeze it dry over an empty bucket with a funnel and

graduated cylinder and record.  Determine the score and record.

 

How Hot is Hot -- Estimate the temperature of a glass of water by putting one finger in

the water.  Write your estimated guess on the worksheet, then use the thermometer to

measure the temperature in Fahrenheit/Celsius.

 

Ice Cube Curling -- Estimate the distance you can slide an ice cube using only a

popsicle stick and record your answer in centimeters.  Now slide the ice cube from

the starting line and record the distance using the official meter tape/stick.  Determine

the score and record.    

Procedures:

Each team will have 4-5 members.  Students will choose one person from their team to

perform one of the events.  Before the activity begins, the students say the Olympic

pledge.  The representative from each team will compete with others to one of the events

to determine the winner of that event.  The participants will record an estimate and actual

measure.  The measures should be accurate and have unit labels.  The difference between

the estimate and the actual measure will be the score.  The lowest score wins since it

shows more accuracy in estimation.

1.         Several days before hand, students do research and build excitement of the big

            event.

2.         Give each team task cards and time to decide which events they will participate

            in.

3.         Give out the Participation Awards with the event listed on them.

4.         The games will begin with running the flame around the area and the group

            saying the athlete and Olympic pledge.

5.         The group is responsible for measuring, estimating, and calculating scores.

            The group needs to see how closely they can match their estimate and actual

            measurement in metric units.   

The teacher will supervise the totaling scores for the teams, measuring to the

nearest whole unit.  The teacher needs to announce when teams will rotate to the

next station.

6.         It is fun to have an Award Ceremony with Participation Awards!

Explore Activity:            Gather information from the AIMS Education Foundation

related to Olympics.  The web-site is: http://www.aims.edu.org/Activities/middle.html

Students can accurately answer these questions:

• How many liters of water will fill your bathtub?  Draw a cartoon and record

your data.

• Select five (5) or more containers of assorted sizes and shapes.  Can you arrange

them in order from least to greatest and predict their volume accurately?  Make

a diagram and a table of your results.

Formal Assessment:            Students will soon determine that the weight of the objects will

affect the distance in which it will travel.

Mini Metric Olympics

 

Team____________________        Competitor__________

 

Event	Guess	Actual Measure	Score (Difference)
Big Foot Contest	_____ mm	_____ mm	_____ mm
Paper Plate Discus	_____ m	_____ m	_____ m
Cotton Ball Shot Put	_____ cm	_____ cm	_____ cm
Drinking Straw Javelin	_____ m	_____ m	_____ m
Right-Handed M&M Grab	_____	_____	_____
Left-Handed Sponge Squeeze	_____ mL	_____ mL	_____ mL
How Hot is Hot?	_____ F/C	_____ F/C	_____ F/C
Ice Cube Curling	_____ cm	_____ cm	_____ cm