Measuring One Hundred

Happy Groundhog Day! Feliz Día de la Candelaria, or Candlemas!
And happy Hundredth Day of School!
To celebrate our one hundred days together, we got busy measuring one hundred. One hundred grams, one hundred milliliters, one hundred centimeters . . . but not just measuring. Oh, no. That would never do. I am a firm believer that measurement activities should be practical. We measure for a purpose. We measure and graph amaryllis growth. We measure minerals and the shrinking mass of evaporating apples. We measure caterpillars and worms and holes in the ground.

Today we measured food--for a 100th Day snack!
Procedure:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Measure 100 cm of pretzel sticks. Use the balance to measure the mass of the pretzel sticks and record in a chart. 3. Measure 100 ml of peanuts. Use the balance to measure the mass of the peanuts and record in a chart. 4. Measure 100 grams of raisins. Use the graduated cylinder (or measuring cup) to measure the volume of the raisins and record in a chart. 5. Measure 100 grams of M&Ms. Use the graduated cylinder (or measuring cup) to measure the volume of the M&Ms and record in a chart. 6. Measure 100 ml of juice into a drinking cup for each person. Use the balance to measure the mass of the juice. 7. Answer the questions below.
8. Place the pretzel sticks, peanuts, raisins, and M&Ms in the bowl (or on the plate).
9. Your snack is a mixture. Enjoy sharing it together.

Conclusions:
Which has greater volume—100 ml of peanuts or 100 grams of raisins?
Which has greater mass—100 cm of pretzel sticks or 100 ml of peanuts?
Which has greater mass—100 grams of raisins or 100 grams of M&Ms?
Can a mixture be separated?

What We're Reading:
The Night Before the 100th Day of School by Natasha Wing
100th Day Worries by Margery Cuyler
Gregory's Shadow by Don Freeman
Go to Sleep Groundhog! by Judy Cox
Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather by Bruce Koscielniak
Double Trouble Groundhog Day by Bethany Roberts


Note to Educators:
Please do "try this at home"!
For 25 students (5 Cooperative Science Groups of 4-5 children), I use
15 oz. bag of pretzel sticks (more than enough—a smaller bag would do)
24 oz. container of raisins (or in our case, Craisins)
16 oz. container of peanuts (Be sure to check for peanut allergies! If someone is allergic, substitute another snack for your entire class.)
64 oz. bottle of juice (plus an additional small bottle)
21.3 oz. bag of M&Ms (other possibilities for snacks include: cereal, Cheerios, Cheezits)

* I designate a “supply table,” and groups take turns bringing the main supply to their group table for use. For example, one group might be measuring pretzels while another group has the container of peanuts. When they have measured out the amount for their group, they return the package to the supply table.

For each student, you will also need:
1 napkin and/or plate
1 drinking cup (Note: 3 oz. cups are not large enough for this activity.)

For each group, you will need to gather one of each of the following (quantities listed assume you have organized 5 cooperative science groups):
5 meter sticks
5 sets of gram weights
5 metric balances
5 graduated cylinders or graduated beakers (100ml or more)!