Activity 8: Non-standard Measurement

Let's Measure with our Body Parts!

This activity will teach your students/children to use their own body parts such as their span and cubit as a measuring tool. Introducing scenarios at the beginning of any activity would be interesting for children as it would play with their imagination.

Objective: 

Students will learn how to use their handspan and cubit as a measuring tool.

Activity:

Introduce a scenario such as the one below;

“ Ahmed’s family is moving to a new house. Ahmed wants to buy a study table for his new room. But since his room is very small, he has to buy a table that would fit in to a very small space. So he decides to measure the space before he goes to buy the table. But he does not have any measuring tools and since it’s a new house, he does not have anything that he can use to measure. Now what he can do?”

You can use any other scenario which leave them with no option but to use his hand span and cubit to measure objects.
Explain what span and cubit is and demonstrate how to measure objects using these body parts.
Ask students to measure objects in the room using their span and cubit.

Detailed Lesson Plan can be viewed below.