My Cute Dinosaurs Measure

Distances to Help Kids

Richa Jain JindalVictorious Kidss Educares, Pune

An interesting and creative way to learn units of measurement.

Children would not even realize that they are actually learning complex and hard to remember conversion formulas

through this entertaining story of seven dinosaurs.

Once upon a time, there was a jungle

called ‘Length’. There lived 7 different

types of dinosaurs. They varied in

sizes.

Millisaur

Centisaur

Decisaur

Metsaur

Decasaur

Hectosaur

And …

Kilosaur

Kilosaur,

considering its

huge size, declared

itself the king of the

jungle. The other

dinosaurs didn’t like

it. They didn’t want

any king to be

ruling over them.

‘I am the biggest’ said Kilosaur arrogantly ‘and hence the king of this jungle’.

‘But, apart from being big, one should possess other qualities also to become a king. You are always

alone, you don’t even have friends’ said Hectosaur.

‘Yes, a king should be popular and lovable’ dared the tiny Millisaur, who was a helping dinosaur and had

maximum number of friends.

All the smaller dinosaurs discussed amongst themselves

and came up with an idea. They approached Kilosaur to

propose their idea.

They said ‘Let’s have a race, Kilosaur! And if you don’t

win, you are not the king.’

Kilosaur agreed gladly to this seemingly stupid idea.

‘One step of mine is bigger than many of theirs’ thought

Kilosaur.

The smaller dinosaurs kept one

condition that they would take help

of their friends in the race. Kilosaur

had no objection to this equally

stupid condition.

‘Oh, their friends are tiny in size as the

dinosaurs themselves. They are zeros and

have no value. I should not be worried’

thought Kilosaur imagining the zero friends

that the other dinosaurs had.

Milli like a lily,

had six smilies!

Centi – A hand, empty!

The friends were like fingers,

with Centi at the center.

Deci was fussy,

with the fork ate spaghetti!

Met, like a triangle,

had friends at the angles!

Deca had two,

like ‘O’s in cuckoo

Hecto had one,

like a hot cross bun!

Kilo had none,

So, it never had fun!

They all were very proud of their friends and trusted them completely.

The dinosaurs discussed the challenge with their friends.

Zeros suggested ‘We have no value alone, but together with any one (1) of you, we can roll

very fast and make you reach your destination quickly.’

The smaller dinosaurs liked the idea.

So they made skateboards and their friends

became rollers.

Hecto rolled inside its only zero friend.

All of them zoomed towards the finish line.

Kilosaur walked alone.

Interestingly, all the dinosaurs reached the finish

line at the same time.

=

=1 000 000millimeter

1 00 000centimeter

1 0 000decimeter

1 000meter

1 00decameter

10 hectometer

1 Kilometer

Kilosaur couldn’t believe, what it saw. ‘How could

little dinosaurs reach so fast’ wondered Kilosaur.

All the smaller dinosaurs screamed together,

‘that’s the values of our friends, zeros, Kilosaur!’

‘I, with 6 zeros, am equal to 1 Kilo’ said Millisaur

delightfully.

1 000 000 milli = 1 Kilo

‘I, with 5 zeros, am equal to 1 Kilo’ shouted

Centisaur.

1 00 000 centi = 1 Kilo

‘I, with 4 zeros, am equal to 1 Kilo’ shouted the

fussy Decisaur.

1 00 00 deci= 1 Kilo

‘I, with 3 zeros, am equal to 1 Kilo’ screamed

Metsaur with joy.

1 000 meter = 1 Kilo

‘I, with 2 zeros, am equal to 1 Kilo’ shouted

Decasaur.

1 00 deca= 1 Kilo

‘I, with 1 zero, am equal to 1 Kilo’ claimed

Hectosaur.

10 hecto = 1 Kilo

Kilosaur had to accept that all the dinosaurs have

covered the same distance in the same duration

as itself.

My Cute Dinosaurs Measure

Distances to Help Kids

Richa Jain JindalVictorious Kidss Educares, Pune