Jump, Frog ... What?

If someone asked me, "What's your favorite concept

to teach in math?" I would likely respond with "telling time."

For certain you would NEVER hear me say measurement.

Not quite sure what I dislike about it.  

It's just not my favorite.

Then a friend across the hall happened along this 

idea she copied from a professional magazine long, LONG ago. It's a simple activity to reinforce measuring with nonstandard units.

(Sadly, her copy did not reveal the publication's name or I'd be giving proper credit about now.)

In any case, I took the basic idea and gave it a spin of my own.

My kids absolutely loved it and could not have possibly been more engaged, unless...
 I brought in a fuzzy puppy for show and tell.

 (and good luck with THAT happening this side of eternity!) 

To recreate this activity for your own classroom, you'll need to first locate this book on your shelf.  
It might need a light dusting.

Share it with your class and invite your kiddos to guess-timate  how far they believe they can jump from a standing position.

 Create the measuring tool using frog clipart. 

(I attached each picture to the other using postage tape. A bit of space was left between each square so it would fold nicely when we were done. The color copies cost about $1.25 at my local copy shop.)

Place it on the floor and add a tiny bit of masking tape to mark the standing position. 

Select your first kid to broad jump and 

everyone else will be begging to be next in line!

 Once every last kiddo has had a turn, create a class book

with the results.  

Here are two examples from our own book...

 

Precious work, huh?

If you're interested in a copy of the class booklet,

leave a comment and I'll send it right along!