This week our class undertook a mini investigation involving measuring our bodies.

Our first task was to draw a table and record our estimates of the following body parts:

• Around the base of our thumb
• Around our wrist
• Around our neck
• Around our waist
• A body part of our choice.

We then worked with a partner and used measuring tapes to measure each body part. The units of measurement we used were centimetres. We are now getting better and better at estimating measurements each week with some students even estimating the exact measurement!

Next we were given an old saying to read:

Once around the waist, twice around the neck;

Once around the neck, twice around the wrist.

We had to use the information we had gathered to decide whether this saying was true for us.

We found out that whilst both measurements were not exactly the same as each other they were very very close. We decided that the saying was close to being true because of this observation.

Lastly we had to investigate if we could find any other pairs of body measurements that are double or half relationships. Most of us found that twice around the base of our thumb is the same or nearly the same measurement as once around our wrist.

We also had time to measure other parts of our bodies and practise using a tape measure to do this and also estimate these lengths as accurately as we could.

What did you enjoy most about this investigation?

What did you discover about the measurements of certain body parts?

Do you think you are becoming more confident and accurate in estimating lengths? Why or Why not?