DIY Transparent Ruler - Freebie Included!

Hi there, friends! Blair from One Lesson at a Time here. I've recently become obsessed with creating Interactive Notebook activities. Some might say, I've become addicted. And I might say they might be right.

Anywho, when I was creating my 3.MD.4 pack, which reviews measuring to the nearest 1/4 inch and making line plots, I had an idea. Wouldn't it be great if kids could have a transparent ruler that showed whole inches, half inches, and quarter inches? I know that measuring can be a tricky concept for many students, so being able to see the different lines and isolate each of them would be really helpful.

So, I created this page:

Black and White Version

Color Version

The idea is that the entire page would be printed on transparency paper and then cut apart and assembled to create a transparent, manipulative ruler.

I love the idea, but I know that many people just don't have access to transparency paper. My school supplies it, but I don't know that I could get away with using a page per student to create these rulers. And, unless you are teaching in the world's highest paying school, you do NOT want to have to buy that stuff on your own. HOT DIGGITY DOG, have you seen how much it costs?!?!

So anyway, I wanted to figure out another option for people who like the idea, but don't want to buy the transparency paper. So here we go....

I went to Staples and bought these 9 x 12 job ticket holders. They are nice and sturdy and come 10 to a pack for $7.99.

I cut off the edges of the job ticket. This way, each one can be used for 2 students. So one pack can produce 20 rulers. 

I took one of my transparent sheets and laid it on top of the ruler page, which I printed out on regular paper.

 Then, using a ruler and sharpies, I traced the outline of each of the rulers. Then I traced the whole inch, half inch, and quarter inch marks.

I traced the half inches in red and the quarter inches in blue to help them stand out a little more.

Next, I cut out my three ruler strips.

Then, I stacked them on top of one another and stapled them along the narrow side tabs.

Another way to do it is to trace ONLY the half inch and quarter inch ruler strips. You can staple these right on top of the whole inch ruler strip that is printed on white paper. This is great if you DON'T want to staple the ruler into your INB, but instead want to use it on its own.

On the top of this picture, you can see the ruler I made with the white paper background, and on the bottom you can see the ruler with 3 transparent strips. I should have put it on a non-black background so the bottom one didn't look so terrible, but hopefully you get the idea. :)

If you wanted to make a few of these for students to use in centers or small groups, you could easily make them on your own. But I also think that, with specific directions, students could handle the tracing and could each make their own. 

You can download the printable page {HERE} to try it out on your own. I included both the color and black and white versions. The rulers show true inches - so print them out "actual size". 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

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Perimeter Problems and Area Art!

As you may have figured out, math is a true passion of mine as is finding ways to push students' thinking about math (and other things!) and put them in situations where they need to problem solve, cooperate, and persevere!

We are a few days into a mini unit on area and perimeter, and we have been doing a number of "hands on" investigations.  The CCSS states that fourth graders need to:

"Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems."


It would be very easy to look at this and think, "Man--the area and perimeter formulas are pretty simple . . . I'll teach them those, do a few problems about carpet and grassy fields and we should be good to go!"  The simple fact is, we must remember that true understanding of mathematical concepts involves careful study, a variety of investigations, and applying new learning in a variety of ways.  Over the last week we have built shapes with one inch times, used cheese crackers to find rectangles with certain perimeters, and used grid paper to explore different perimeter and area questions.

Today I decided to ask students to apply some of the learning we have done to moderately open ended task.  Here is the task I gave them:

Students could use the open space at the bottom of the investigation sheet or sheets of grid paper to work on finding the 3 rectangles that would fit the rules.  Students busied themselves guessing and checking, sketching and figuring, and then asking someone to "prove" whether or not the rectangles they found did, indeed, fit the rules.  I walked around asking questions and having students prove to me with numbers and/or drawings that their three rectangles worked.

Some students crossed off efforts that weren't successful.  Others wrote comments like "too small" or "perimeter too large".

Things went along pretty smoothly for most, but we did have some work to improve along the way!  Two students were really struggling with the guess and check method and were having a hard time visualizing the different types of rectangles that can be made with any given perimeter.  I asked, "What do you do when you get stuck?  You've already tried a picture--now what?" and after a short pause . . .

Victory!  We want students to be able to draw from a wide range of strategies to help them get "unstuck" and that's just what happened.  Within a few minutes, the tiles magically arranged themselves into a great solution!

Another student was really struggling keeping track of perimeter as he counted.  He had learned a good strategy . . .

but he kept losing count and was getting a different answer each time.  I asked him how he thought he could better keep track so he didn't keep losing his place.  He really didn't have any ideas, so I gave him a little think time.  Eventually I asked, "What do I do when I am solving a problem that is a little tricky or has lots to remember?"  He lit up and said . . .

"You write stuff down!"

 . . . and so he did!

Success!  This simple strategy helped him see that he did, indeed, have the right answer!  He just couldn't keep track of it in his head.

So here's where it gets fun!  As a few students began to finish, I called a time out and brought the group together to explain the next steps.  (You thought we were finished, right?)  We talked about the measurement unit we just finished, and I explained to them the next step would be for them to BUILD their rectangles with 1/2 inch wide strips of paper.  We reviewed the definition of a rectangle and I asked the students to experiment a little with using the strips to build exact models of the rectangles they had just found.

They measured . . . 

and cut . . .

and arranged in rectangles!

As they built them, I reminded them to ALWAYS check their work with the ruler and lo and behold, many students were finding that their perimeters were no longer correct!  I asked them to brainstorm at their tables and finally someone noticed that they would have to overlap the corners or else it ADDED length to the sides.  It took some convincing for some students--but over time, all students were able to build their three rectangles.  Finished, right?

NO!  I am a HUGE believer in taking pride in one's work, so guess what we did?  We glued those rectangles down to make geometric art and we displayed them proudly in the hall for all to see!  Check out some of our finished work!

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I love to find ways to combine problem solving, art, hands on learning, questioning, and teamwork, and today was a blast!  One of my easily frustrated students said as he hung up his work, "This project was the perfect amount of challenge for me!"  I couldn't agree more!

I can't help but remind you that it is Teacher Appreciation Week!  Today is the first day of the big sale over at Teachers Pay Teachers, and we'd love for you to check out all the resources we have waiting for you!    Sunday's blog post right here on ATUE has one featured product from each one of us, and we know you'll love them.  We hope you have a peaceful week at school--and know that we APPRECIATE each and every one of you as you take time out of your busy day to see what we have going on!

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Joining in on the FUN!!

Well hello there!  I'm the newest member of ATUE, Jamie Riggs, also know as MissMathDork!

I am so incredibly excited to be joining this amazing group of collaborators in their journey to bring you awesome lessons for your kiddos.  I am currently a Math Specialist at a 5-8 middle school in Virginia.  I spend 1/2 of my day working with my 16 core math teachers and 4 special educators.  I spend the other 1/2 of my day working with 38 math resource students who are between 1 and 5 years behind in their basic math skills.  I love that my job changes every day and that it keeps me on my toes!  I also love that I get to keep my feet in the classroom!  Working to vertically align the curriculum, instruction and vocabulary is HUGE, but I LOVE being with my kiddos!

Before becoming the math specialist at my current middle school, I taught 7 years of Algebra and Geometry at the middle school level and I spent one year working with my College Alma Mater (Go Tribe!) working as a Math Specialist to schools that were struggling to make AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) in math at all levels. 

When it comes to math, I am a HUGE NERD.  I love anything and everything pi related, especially t-shirts.  I also love collecting fun earrings that are math-geek-chic (thankfully my awesome Mother-in-law helps with that obsession!)  My absolute favorite ones are my domino earrings.  

Any way, enough about my love of nerdy math attire!  How about what I'm all about - MAKING MATH FUN!  Working with teachers and kiddos at 4 different grade levels really allows me to see need for different types of activities across the board, and so, I create them!  As I was helping in classrooms around my school, I noticed the need to make measurement (both metric and customary) more exciting, so I created Measurement Wars.  AND, just this past week, I added a product called Measurement Made Easy, which is a series of posters featuring my MissMathDork avatar teaching various ways of understanding measurement. Make sure to check out my blog post on the activity - the kiddos had a BLAST and there were quite a few "ah-ha" moments!!!  

Remember how I said I teach in Virginia?  Well, if you didn't know Virginia didn't adopt the CCSS,  BUT I am very aware of all the CCSS craziness going on all around me.  Just recently my dear friend, Jennifer Smith-Sloane aka 4mulaFun and I were chatting, and she was wishing for a CCSS checklist to keep herself organized with her Solve and Snip series.  We chatted about how she wanted it to look, and possible ways teachers could use it and then I went to work. A few days later, I sent her the checklists to look over and proof.  AND NOW that we've made them what we wanted, I'm offering them to you for FREE!  There are (currently) three checklists: one for K-2, one for 3-5, and one for 6-8.  In the semi-near future I plan to create two more for the High School Common Core Math Standards.  

Get your FREE K-2 Checklist here, your FREE 3-5 Checklist here, and your FREE 6-8 Checklist here!

I would LOVE for you to download each of the CCSS checklists but DON'T FORGET

FEEDBACK = LOVE

Oh! and just because this is my first post, and it needs to be EXTRA SPECIAL... the first 3 people to leave comment with their email address in it will receive my Measurement Made Easy bundle for FREE!!

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Common Core Math - Line Plots

CCSS.Math.Content.3.MD.B.4 Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units— whole numbers, halves, or quarters.

Well....that's pretty specific! Here's how I attacked this Common Core line plot standard with my third graders last week:

If you read my post about Bucket Filling, you may remember that I have a large collection of ribbons that students can tie onto their buckets when they've filled them up. I told my students that I needed their help taking inventory of our ribbon supply and displaying that data on a line plot. 

We started off by drawing a long, horizontal line on our papers. We then marked off 1 1/2 inch intervals (this step was more of an adventure than I'd planned on after 2 weeks of measurement work, but that's neither here nor there). We marked the resulting horizontal scale in quarter inches, starting at 6 inches (the shortest ribbon length). We labeled our scale (Length in Inches) and titled our line plots (Ribbon Lengths). 

Next, I "sprinkled" ribbons throughout the room. To make it easier for students to keep track of the ribbons they had and had not measured, I numbered each ribbon with a Sharpie. It's funny how different each class is year-to-year. This year, my kiddos are all about the "sprinkling". If I find a way to "sprinkle" the work throughout the room, they are complete rockstars. Whatever works, right?!

Students moved around the room, measuring the ribbons and marking them on their line plots with an "x" above the appropriate length. Here are some of my students at work:

Here's my own messy copy to give you an idea of what the finished line plot looked like:

When they were done creating their line plots, they made observations about the data in their math notebooks. Then I asked them to generate questions about their data. Some examples of what they came up with:

-How many more ribbons are 7 1/4 inches long than 6 1/4 inches long?
-How many ribbons are longer than 7 inches?
-How many ribbons are 6 1/2 inches or shorter?
-What is the most common ribbon length?

The specificity of the standard definitely was a big help in designing this lesson. It was a fun and engaging way for students to practice measuring with a ruler and creating a line plot in a more meaningful way.

If you want more measurement resources, here are two products available in my TpT store:


Click here to see my measurement riddles - a fun way to practice measuring to the nearest 1/4 inch.

Click here to see my 3rd Grade Common Core Math Assessments for Measurement and Data (includes more line plots). 







Do you have any good ideas for teaching line plots?

Keep Calm and Teach On!

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