What can you measure in the classroom?

We have begin our math unit on measurement! This is a very fun and interactive unit that takes place indoors and outdoors! As with everything, we have started out with lots of hands-on, concrete learning and activities. The children have enjoyed exploring the concepts of smaller, bigger, shorter, longer, taller and many other math terms. This week I focused on where we should start measuring our object in order to have the most consistent results. The children each found an object and took turn showing where they started to measure with unifix cubes as their "measurement tools." This was a great way for me to do some formative assessment and see what the children already know about how to use tools to measure. We discussed how starting at the bottom or top of an object, rather than the middle will give us more consistent or "same" results. Next week the children will begin to explore with weight and using scales to decide if something is "lighter" or "heavier" when compared to a second object!

Jackie had an "AHA" moment when he explained that he started measuring the drum in the middle because he wanted to find out the "LONGEST" part of the drum. It is great to hear all of the math language being used more each day!

Maggie decided to find out how TALL Dixie was!

Saadiya showing her classmates how TALL the giant dice is!

Liliana explained to the class that the pencil could be measured "lying down" or when "standing up." It is great to hear the children recognizing that there can be more than one way to measure an object!

I am looking forward to the next few weeks when the children take on more of an inquiry approach to measurement! The children will choose their own tools and what they would like to measure as well as explore different measurement stations during math centers. We will be working with our big buddies to measure different areas of Dixon School including the playground and gymnasium!