Introducing Measurement to Students
There are several components to teaching measurement in elementary school grades. Through the use of visual aids, manipulatives, stories, and videos, students can understand measurement and learn how to calculate measurements on their own.
Measurement on TV
The television show Sesame Street demonstrates measurement in a way that makes it fun and easy for children to understand. The episode discusses forms of measurement by using different tools to measure Elmo's height, such as a ruler, tube of toothpaste, and even a football. This video introduces the concept of measurement for young students. Take a look at the following video to see the episode:
Units of Length
The next step in measurement is establishing units of length and determining how to convert between them. When converting units of length, it can be extremely helpful to study a conversion chart. This chart demonstrates how to use multiplication or division to determine the conversions, and would be useful to keep as a reference when converting units of length. I would even recommend memorizing the chart to make the conversion process faster and easier. Take a look at the sample chart below.
Storybook Math
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table is a children's book that compares standardized measurement with non-standardized measurement techniques and explores the use of different shapes in relation to measurement. This is a great resource to use in the classroom because it allows students to perceive math in an unconventional way. The story has a medieval theme with bold pictures and visual examples of shapes to help students understand how to solve measurement problems. If you are interested in seeing the entire story, check out the video below.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZJU3-JXGBo&feature=youtu.be
Relating to the Curriculum
Measurement is introduced in early primary grades but continues throughout elementary school. I decided to look into the Junior curriculum expectations for measurement, specifically grade 4 guidelines found on page 69 of The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Mathematics. The Overall Expectations by the end of Grade 4, students will estimate, measure, and record length, perimeter, area, mass, capacity, volume, and elapsed time, using a variety of strategies.
The Specific Expectation related to measurement is that by the end of Grade 4, students will estimate, measure, and record length, height, and distance, using standard units (i.e.,millimetre,centimetre,metre,kilometre) (e.g.,a pencil that is 75 mm long)
Measurement on TV
The television show Sesame Street demonstrates measurement in a way that makes it fun and easy for children to understand. The episode discusses forms of measurement by using different tools to measure Elmo's height, such as a ruler, tube of toothpaste, and even a football. This video introduces the concept of measurement for young students. Take a look at the following video to see the episode:
Units of Length
The next step in measurement is establishing units of length and determining how to convert between them. When converting units of length, it can be extremely helpful to study a conversion chart. This chart demonstrates how to use multiplication or division to determine the conversions, and would be useful to keep as a reference when converting units of length. I would even recommend memorizing the chart to make the conversion process faster and easier. Take a look at the sample chart below.
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| Retrieved from https://image.slidesharecdn.com/convertingmetricunitsppt-130430044733-phpapp01/95/converting-metric-units-3-638.jpg?cb=1367297347 |
Storybook Math
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table is a children's book that compares standardized measurement with non-standardized measurement techniques and explores the use of different shapes in relation to measurement. This is a great resource to use in the classroom because it allows students to perceive math in an unconventional way. The story has a medieval theme with bold pictures and visual examples of shapes to help students understand how to solve measurement problems. If you are interested in seeing the entire story, check out the video below.
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZJU3-JXGBo&feature=youtu.be
Relating to the Curriculum
Measurement is introduced in early primary grades but continues throughout elementary school. I decided to look into the Junior curriculum expectations for measurement, specifically grade 4 guidelines found on page 69 of The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Mathematics. The Overall Expectations by the end of Grade 4, students will estimate, measure, and record length, perimeter, area, mass, capacity, volume, and elapsed time, using a variety of strategies.
The Specific Expectation related to measurement is that by the end of Grade 4, students will estimate, measure, and record length, height, and distance, using standard units (i.e.,millimetre,centimetre,metre,kilometre) (e.g.,a pencil that is 75 mm long)
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