2nd graders measure to create giraffe models

Second grade is a unique time in the life of a child. It is a year of transition from the development of skills to the development of independence. Second grade is a time when most children begin to refine their problem solving skills along with their ability to work in groups. These students are eager to learn and start to gain a real interest in hands on activities. This is a time in a student's life for the teacher to reinforce skills needed for the child to become a lifelong learner.;Mathematics plays a crucial role in the second grade curriculum. Students are required to gain an understanding of specific mathematical concepts by the end of the year. One of those concepts is the ability measure length.;The MST unit was implemented in a second grade classroom in an elementary school located near a major metropolitan area. The classroom consisted of 3 females and 13 males. There were many learning goals I hoped for the students to accomplish. The goals of my unit were intertwined with the New York State Department of Education Mathematics Standards. At the end of my unit I wanted to the students to use non standard and standard units of measurement, use a ruler, identify the appropriate unit of measurement and vocabulary, compare and order objects according to length, and estimate the length of an object.;I used many different forms of assessment throughout the unit. I used a pre and post assessment. The scores of my pre assessment showed how much information students already knew about measurement and what topics were going to be areas of concern. This helped drive my instruction during the unit. Each lesson ended with an assessment based on a particular learning goal. The post assessment allowed me to reflect on the unit and helped me understand what the students mastered and where they needed more review. The design challenge at the end of the unit asked the students to create models of giraffes. Here, the students were able to use their newly learned measurement skills to draw and measure different body parts of a giraffe and use their creativity to design models.;I am very pleased with the outcome of my unit. According to my data collection it is apparent that the learning goals of the unit were met. For example, on the post assessment all of the students scored at least a 75% or higher. Their scores from the pre assessment improved at least 40 points. In addition, the students' enthusiasm and hard work showed me how much they enjoyed our design project. This unit allowed me to refine my teaching skills and become comfortable with presenting information to the students in new and exciting ways.