Unit Title:	Measurement and the Illampi Mound Colony
Author:	Sam Billings and Katy Phipps, Highland Meadows Country Day School
Subject Area:	Mathematics
Grade:	3-6
Time Required:	1/2 hour class time; 1 hour outdoor activity

Learning Outcomes:

Students will understand the basic units of measurement, scale, plotting, and basic grids.  Students will practice their estimation
and measuring skills and will demonstrate their ability to work well in groups.

Materials:

Index cards with dinosaur names and lengths
Reproductions of the Illampi Mound Colony map
Measurement tools
Chalk
Large blacktop area

Activities:

Activity 1:  Team up your students into groups (teams of 2-4 students work well for this activity).  Give each team an index
card with the name and length of a dinosaur on it.  Out on the blacktop, teams will estimate how long their dinosaur was by
pacing out the length and marking their estimates in chalk on the ground.  Each student on team should have a chance to
estimate.  The teams will then measure out the length of their dinosaur using yardsticks or measuring tapes.  Ask the students to
compare their estimates with their measurements.  Where their estimates too long?  Too short?

Activity 2:  After a unit on "scale", introduce the map of the Illampi Mound Colony.  Discuss how scale relates to mapping and distance.  Focus specifically on the scale "1 foot equals 3 yards"  Working in teams, have the students recreate the nesting
colony on the blacktop with chalk, being careful to accurately plot the distances between nests.
 
 

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