Measurement
Lessons in this chapter
About Measurement
How Long? How Heavy? How Much? takes kindergarten comparison and adds the step that makes measurement possible: using a unit to say how much, not just which is bigger.
Compare and Order Lengths Visually, Compare and Order Mass by Sight and Feeling, and Compare and Order Capacity by Observation extend the kindergarten comparisons from two objects to several, which is harder because ordering means holding more than one comparison at once.
Measure Length using Non-standard Units, Measure Mass using Non-Standard Unit and Measure Capacity using Non-standard Unit then introduce measuring with paperclips, cubes or cups. Saying a table is twelve handspans long is a real measurement: it has a number and a unit.
Non-standard units are chosen on purpose, because they expose why standard units exist. Two kids measuring the same desk in handspans get different answers, and noticing that is what makes centimeters feel like a solution rather than a rule.
Six lessons, six worksheets, each worked in the page. They run in pairs, comparing first and then measuring: Measure Length using Non-standard Units, Measure Mass using Non-Standard Unit and Measure Capacity using Non-standard Unit are the three that introduce a unit. All six are free and scored as you go.
Frequently asked questions
Six lessons in three pairs, one pair each for length, mass and capacity. Each pair compares first, by sight or by feel, then measures with a non-standard unit such as a handspan or a cup. Length sits in the Common Core's first grade Measurement and Data domain (1.MD); mass and capacity go beyond what first grade asks for there, and are included because all three behave the same way.
Any repeated object used to measure: paperclips for length, cubes for mass, cups for capacity. It gives a number and a unit without needing a ruler or scale.
Because kids should discover why standard units are needed. When two children measure the same desk in handspans and disagree, the case for a shared unit makes itself.
How much a container holds. It is measured by filling, which is why the lessons use cups and pouring rather than looking.
Comparing says which is longer. Measuring says how much longer, by counting units. This chapter does both, comparison first.
Leaving gaps or overlaps between the units. Paperclips have to be laid end to end with nothing between them, or the count does not mean anything.