Queen for a Day

Today I got to dress up like a Queen!

We have had THE BEST time in Math this week.  

To start off, I had an AMAZING substitute yesterday who really helped set the whole stage for this impromptu lesson.  We are in the beginning of our measure unit.  To start off, she told them that she was going to read them the story of a king who wants his apprentice to make a bed for his queen.  They discussed questions the apprentice would have to answer in order to be able to make the bed.  Then she read them the book, How Big Is a Foot?   

From Amazon:  "The King wants to give the Queen something special for her birthday. The Queen has everything, everything except a bed. The trouble is that no one in the Kingdom knows the answer to a very important question: How Big is a Bed? because beds at the time had not yet been invented. The Queen's birthday is only a few days away. How can they figure out what size the bed should be?"

After reading the book, they discussed the importance of using feet (as in the body part) versus using the standard units of measurement.  She then told them that they were going to attempt to make a bed fit for QUEEN VAN ORMAN.  They worked in small groups using a 12 inch ruler.  They were told to create a bed that is 6 feet long and 3 feet wide.  When they were finished, they decorated their beds and hung them on the walls.  

I LOVED the decorations!  A couple of the groups did an AMAZING job coloring and decorating their beds to match my taste.  They know I love chevron, so they tried to draw it.  

not birds - HA!

So sweet!

My substitute also left me this adorable note in order to finish up the lesson the next day.  

Today, when I was back at school, I pulled out my Dollar Tree Royal Crown, Earrings, Scarves, and Glasses and got my Royal Ruler ready to inspect their beds!  

Two of the groups made PERFECT beds for me!  The others were close, but it led us to some great conversation on how we line up rulers, why it's important to know about different tools of measurement (ruler/yardstick/measuring tape), appropriate times for standard/non-standard units of measurement, etc.  

It really was the best day ever!