Measuring Volume

Here are the steps to our investigations in measuring volume.

1. Trace the container you are going to use.

2. Place a strip of masking tape down the side of the container.

3. Pour one cup of water into the container from a measuring cup.

4. Mark where the water line is on the tape with a marker. Do you want to change your estimate?

5. Continuing adding cups of water until the container is full, marking where each up comes on the tape.

They boys were surprised at first to find out that the one container on the left, which was the taller of the two, held only one cup whereas the one on the right, although shorter, contained four cups! This is a dramatic way of showing how much shape and width have an impact on the volume capacity of a container.

sources:

• Elephants GEMS guide
• Math Their Way

Elephant Tusks

We were surprised to find out how large elephant tusks are! Did you know that the adult female elephant tusk can be up to 5 feet long and the adult male's tusk can be 8 feet long! To help them visualize these measurements, Katie sketched out a 5-foot and an 8-foot tusk for the boys and we hung it on the wall. (I know it is really hard to see the pencil lines in the photos, but the tusks pretty much filled the whole sheets of paper.) They even got Dad to measure himself against the 8-foot tusk, which had to overlap onto the ceiling!

We talked about what the elephant uses his tusks for; besides protection from enemies and aggression with other elephants, they mainly use their tusks for food gathering. They use their tusks to strip bark off trees to get to the soft layer underneath to eat. They also use their tusks to dig up tree roots to eat. The boys tried out some Popsicle stick tusks on some bark in our backyard just to see how tough a job it can be.

Comparing Body Measurements

Using just a length of yarn or string, students measure and compare the length or circumference of various parts of their bodies. They also compare their own measurements with others. The results might surprise you! I was surprised at how many excited exclamations could be heard, such as, "Look, this is how long it is from head to by belly button!"

Measuring with Jars

Measuring with Jars allows students to estimate how many of any type of measuring cups full of water will fill a particular jar. Estimating gets better with practice until they get to unusually shaped jars. James was surprised to find out that this jar held one measuring cup full of water.