Earlier this week we were studying geometry and measurements in math. While the pictures in the book are nice, I've found that it's always more helpful for the students to see and touch real-life examples. While learning about perimeters, we traced around the edge of a bread pan and measured it with a ruler. To learn area, we drew in the tiles we needed to cover our "floor" and multiplied. To learn volume, we filled the bread pan with 1" cubes and multiplied some more.
To learn circumference, we used a pie pan and traced around the outside. Then we measured the radius and diameter and then multiplied by 3 to get a close estimate. When we checked it with a measuring tape, our estimate was within an inch!
A day later we used a fold-out yardstick, a regular yardstick, and three rulers to measure a yard. For the liquid measures we used real food containers, and to count money, we used real money.
