Illuminations: Mathematics and Children's Literature

Mathematics and Children's Literature

How Big Is a Foot?

In this lesson, students read the book How Big Is a Foot?, by Rolf Myller. They then create non-standard units (using their own footprints) and use them to make "beds." As a result, students explore the need for a standard unit of measure.

Learning Objectives
 
Students will:
  • create non-standard units (using their own footprints) and use them to make "beds"
  • explore the need for a standard unit of measure

Materials
 
Book: How Big Is a Foot?, by Rolf Myller
Making Beds Activity Sheet
Large sheets of paper (for example, butcher paper or construction paper)
Scissors

Instructional Plan

Story Summary

The King demands that a bed be made using measure of his foot, but the carpenter uses his own foot as a measure instead, thereby causing the dimensions to be smaller than expected.

Structuring the Investigation

Read the book, How Big Is a Foot?, by Rolf Myller, to the students.

 

 

Tell students that they will have the chance to explore some of the things that happened in the story with their classmates. Ask students to explain why the bed created by the apprentice is not what the king expected.

Distribute a Making Beds activity sheet to each student.

Making Beds Activity Sheet

To begin, students will need to be in groups of 4. If exact groups of 4 are not possible, groups of 3 or 5 may work. Each student will need to do the following:

  • trace his or her foot on a piece of paper
  • cut out the tracing carefully
  • make eight more copies of the footprint
  • place the footprint end to end on the floor to make two sides of a bed that is 6 footprints long and 3 footprints wide
  • label each footprint with the name of the person

 

Discuss individual students' responses to the tasks described on the Making Beds activity sheet. In particular, discuss responses to questions 5 and 6. Question 5 asks, "Why do you think the ruler was invented?" Students may respond by saying that a standard unit of measurement is more reliable than everyone using their own footprint to measure length. Question 6 asks students to consider, "The preface of the book says, 'To the wonderful metric system without whose absence in this country this book would not have been possible.' What do you think the author means by this statement?" Students might discuss how the Metric system is not used in our country. Students may discuss how much easier it is to use and convert in the Metric system because it is based on powers of ten.

Assessment Options
 
  1. Students may complete the Making Beds Activity Sheet for Family and Friends and bring back to school.

    Making Beds Activity Sheet for Family and Friends Making Beds Activity Sheet for Family and Friends

    They can then compare the results of this activity with their in-class results.

Extensions
 
  1. Use the students' "footprints" to explore the concept of "average." Was one size most common (mode)? When the footprints were arranged in order from smallest to largest, was one size in the middle (median)? In what different ways could we find the average size (mean)?

  2. Discuss the problems that might occur if we used our footprints to graph our birth months.  For example, a student born in January might tape one of his or her footprints end to end with those of others born in that month.  Students born in other months should do the same for their month.  Why might it be difficult to tell which month has the most birthdays by just looking at the height of the graph?

NCTM Standards and Expectations
 
Measurement 3-5
  1. Understand such attributes as length, area, weight, volume, and size of angle and select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each attribute.
  2. Understand that measurements are approximations and how differences in units affect precision.
  3. Understand the need for measuring with standard units and become familiar with standard units in the customary and metric systems.
  4. Select and apply appropriate standard units and tools to measure length, area, volume, weight, time, temperature, and the size of angles.
  5. Select and use benchmarks to estimate measurements.

References
 
  • Hopkins, Martha. "Ideas: Mathematics and Children’s Literature." The Arithmetic Teacher. May, 1993.  pp 512 - 520
  • Myller, Rolf. How Big Is a Foot?. New York: Atheneum Books for Children, 1972.
  
1 period   

NCTM Resources

Exploring Mathematics Through Literature

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