- blocks
- measure
- tool
MA Standards:
Mathematics/Measurement and Data/PK.MD.MA.1 Recognize the attributes of length, area, weight, and capacity of everyday objects using appropriate vocabulary (e.g., long, short, tall heavy, lights, big, small, wide, narrow).
Head Start Outcomes:
Science Knowledge/Scientific Skills and Method Observes and discusses common properties, differences, and comparisons among objects.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
Mathematics/Measurement 14 Use nonstandard units to measure length, weight, and amount of content in familiar objects.
Explore Together (indoors): Measuring to Build
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
STEM Key Concepts: There are different ways to measure
ELA Focus Skills: Compare and Contrast, Listening and Speaking, Vocabulary
Talk with children about how builders need to measure things when they build a house. Ask, What are some things we use to measure? Discuss children’s suggestions. Use the measuring tools to prompt discussion.
Then, ask a volunteer to lie down with his or her feet touching the wall at one end of the room. Say, Sometimes we don’t use tools to measure.
- Ask another volunteer to place a block by the child’s head. Say, This will be a marker to show how long we have measured so far.
- Have the first volunteer get up and then lie down again with feet lined up with the block.
- Ask the second volunteer to place another block by the child’s head. Say, We know the Block Center is two <child’s name> long so far!
- Repeat the procedure until you’ve reached the end of the area you’ve chosen to measure.
- Mention how many “kid-lengths” you’ve measured each time the child moves.
Ask, How many <child’s name> long is this room? Children can count the markers to be sure.
Reflect and Share
Talk with children about what they observed. Have them refer to the photos you took and the “kid rulers” they made as they speak. Encourage the use of comparatives such as longer and shorter.
Take It Further: As children have repeated experiences measuring (whether with a “kid ruler” or with a standard measuring tool), they begin to build a sense of about how long something is before they measure it. Continue to help them develop this kind of thinking by asking them to estimate how long something is before they measure it. Then have them check their estimates by measuring.