Measure the Mayflower Math Activity with FREE companion printables and recording sheets - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

Measure the Mayflower Math Activity

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I am always trying to find ways to make math more exciting. One way I’ve had success with this is to mix math with subjects we really love, like history and geography. This fall we decided to try measuring the Mayflower as a fun history math mash-up activity.

This activity is a great way to combine subjects and save time teaching while involving movement in your lessons. My kinesthetic learner loves this and it makes it easier to include my kindergartener in the fun. And, let’s face it what kid doesn’t want to wiggle a little while they do their schoolwork?

These activities are great for kids in K-5th grade as an introduction or review to several math concepts. I included a sort of how-to regular version of this activity that I did with my elementary aged child and then a modified version that I did with my kindergartener.

This activity is also a great way to learn some historical facts in a fun way, whether your kids need the math review or not.

 

Measure the Mayflower Math Activity - Free Companion Printables and recording sheets - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

Extend the Math with Estimation

From what I have read, the Mayflower was somewhere between 90 feet and 120 feet. And, I went with 90 feet to do our measurement activities.

An easy way to extend this math activity and add some estimation is to measure out the length of the ship ahead of time. You can do this on the lawn or in a park with a couple of sports cones. Estimation jar activities are something we use in our homeschool to practice this skill often.

Estimating a length as long as the Mayflower might be challenging at first, so giving kids a reference, in the beginning, is a good idea. Ask them questions like, “What bigger things do you already know the length of that you could compare it to?”

An easy way to start is to measure the length of a car or some other larger item that they can use as a reference. After they know the length of Mom’s mini-van they will be better able to know if their guesses for the length of the Mayflower are reasonable.

 

Mayflower Math Facts

To go along with our measuring, I gave my kids this sheet of fun Mayflower Math Facts. It is a poster page of numbers related to the Mayflower.

Measure the Mayflower Math Activity - Free Companion Printables - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

The Mayflower was 90 feet long 

Arrived in Plymouth, MA in 1620

Had 3 masts

Was 25 feet wide

Held 102 passengers

Weighed 180 tons

The Mayflower traveled 2,750 miles across the Atlantic

Use this list of facts to make up your own math activities and learn some interesting math facts about this famous ship.

For more fall learning check out this Giant list of Thanksgiving History Resources.

 

Measure the Mayflower

To begin, either measure out the 90 feet with your child or mark it out yourself ahead of time.

Then, grab a tape measure. Walk the tape measure out as far as it will go. Most likely it will be shorter than 90 feet, so just mark where you stop and start again until you get to the marker.

Using the recording sheet, have your child add up each length you measured. For example, if your tape was 25 feet long then you’ll be adding 25 + 25 + 25 + 15 = 90. If your child has studied multiplication have them multiply same distances first, for example, 25 X 3 and then + 15 = 90.

Next, if you have a yardstick have your child measure the 90 feet to get his answer for how many yards long the Mayflower was. Or have him measure after he does the worksheet calculations and then he can use it as a way to check his seat work. It will help him stay engaged in the recording and converting. And, it’s just fun!

We didn’t have a yardstick, so my son just did the calculations in his head, he’s in 5th grade though, so you may want more visual work with a younger child. I think using an actual yardstick or something measured to 3 feet to represent a yard would be a great way for younger mathematicians to see the conversion happening.

Continue to fill out the recording sheet by converting the feet into inches, finding out how many Mayflowers make up a mile. And, finally, convert your calculations into metric.

We did this measurement activity on the beach. and it was so much fun! We brought clipboards for our kids to do their math easily while standing or sitting in the sand.

 

Measure the Mayflower Math Activity - Pool Noodles & Pixie Dust

 

Pre-K-1st Grade (Younger) Version:

For younger kids you can use non-standard or regular measurement, as appropriate, to see how long the Mayflower was.

List of Non-standard measurement ideas for measuring the length of the Mayflower:

  • stick
  • ribbon
  • length of yarn
  • broom
  • mop
  • mommy or daddy
  • their own feet
  • lightsaber toy
  • back scratcher
  • book
  • a beach towel
  • their own bodies

Basically, anything they want, but the longer the better for this one because using something like a pencil will take a long time! But, experiment and let your child start with anything they choose.

If they choose something short then ask them questions as they measure to make them think about the value of using something longer and how that would quicken the measuring process.

This may also be a good time for you to talk about why it helps with confusion to use a standard measurement.

My husband measured our daughter with the tape measure and they marked out how many of her the Mayflower was long. She ran around telling us all that the Mayflower was 22 of her long. Super cute. And, educational. Check, check.

 

Grab Your Free Mayflower Math Printables!

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Have fun measuring the Mayflower with your kiddos! Check out other fun fall math activities we’re doing with Fall Hundreds Chart Hidden Pictures and  Fall Estimation Jar Ideas.

 

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Hi, I'm Heidi a Jesus-loving homeschool Mama traveling the country with my full time RVing family. I'm passionate about simplifying your homeschool or classroom days by providing quality resources and support.

3 Comments

  1. Pingback: Thanksgiving Trees & Activities

  2. This is a great activity. I can’t wait to try this with my kids. I’m curious to know if they will think the ship is bigger or smaller than they originally thought.

    • My son actually said it was bigger than he thought it would be. I think until they do an activity like this, or are standing on a ship, or something similar then they really can’t visualize it. I would love to hear what about how it goes when you do it!

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