Lesson 5

The purpose of this warm-up is for students to compare lengths of objects and notice when they are longer, shorter, or equal to each other in length. While students may notice and wonder many things about these images, comparing the length is an important discussion point.

• Groups of 2
• Display the image.
• “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
• 1 minute: quiet think time

• “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
• 1 minute: partner discussion
• Share and record responses.

• “How can you describe the length of the pencil?” (The pencil is longer than the yellow cubes. The pencil is the same length as the purple cubes.)

The purpose of this activity is for students to create a connecting cube tower that is the same length as a given image. In the activity synthesis, students transition from describing the length of an object by comparing it to another object ("The earthworm is the same length as a tower of 8 cubes.") to describing the length of an object as a measurement ("The earthworm is 8 cubes long.").

• Groups of 2
• Give each student connecting cubes and a copy of the blackline master.

• “We just saw a picture that showed a pencil that was the same length as the purple tower. Use connecting cubes to build a tower that is the same length as each creepy, crawly thing.”
• 10 minutes: partner work time
• Monitor for students who carefully line up the cubes with the endpoints of the images.

• Invite previously identified students to share.
• Display the image of the caterpillar.
• “How did you measure the caterpillar?” (I lined the first cube up with the end of the caterpillar. Then I added cubes until I got all the way to the other end of the caterpillar.)
• “Since the tower of 4 cubes is the same length as the caterpillar and each cube has the same length, we can say the caterpillar is 4 cubes long.”
• For each animal, invite students to say, “The ______ is ___ cubes long.”

The purpose of this activity is for students to measure the length of images using connecting cubes. Although students have compared the lengths of objects in previous activities, length is defined in this activity since it is the first time students measure and describe the length of objects as a number of same-size length units. Students determine how many connecting cube sides long each image is. They make statements such as “The grasshopper is five cubes long.” Some students may disagree on how to measure with their partner based on where they start and end the measurement, which is the focus of the activity synthesis. When students disagree with each other and explain how they decided to measure each image, they critique the reasoning of others (MP3).

• Groups of 2
• Give each student connecting cubes and a copy of the blackline master.
• “In the previous activity, we found the length of animals using connecting cubes. Length is the measure of how long an object is in same-size units without gaps or overlaps.”

• “Use connecting cubes to find the length of more creepy, crawly things. First, measure on your own. Then compare your thinking with your partner. If you and your partner don’t agree on the length, work together to come to an agreement. Complete each statement with the number that makes it true.”
• 6–8 minutes: partner work time
• As students work, consider asking:
  • “How long is the _____? How do you know?”

• Display answers.
• “Check your measurements with these. Did you find the same measurements of length?”
• Consider asking:
  • “If you found the same measurements, what did you and your partner do to make sure you found the right measurement of the length?”
  • “If you found a different measurement, what do you think happened when you measured?”

The purpose of this activity is for students to choose from activities that offer practice adding two-digit numbers within 100. Students choose from any stage of previously introduced centers.

• How Close?
• Target Numbers
• Five in a Row

• Gather materials from:
  • How Close? Stages 1–3
  • Target Numbers, Stages 1–3
  • Five in a Row, Stages 1–6

• Groups of 2
• “Now you are going to choose from centers we have already learned.”
• Display the center choices in the student book.
• “Think about what you would like to do.”
• 30 seconds: quiet think time

• Invite students to work at the center of their choice.
• 10 minutes: center work time

• “Diego and Elena are playing How Close. Diego has a sum of 91. Elena has a sum of 89. Who gets a point for being closer to 100? How do you know?”