We've had so much fun the past few weeks with our measuring unit! We explored the entire classroom looking for items to measure. First, we used yarn as a tool to estimate the length of each object - will the length of the table be longer or shorter than this piece of yarn? We then measured with Unifix cubes and then with popsicle sticks. I loved listening to the students reasoning about why an object had different measurements when measured with different units, like the Unifix cubes and the popsicle sticks. It was a fantastic connection with one of our Habits of Mind focus, Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision. It's important to me that students make conjectures based on mathematical thinking and building on knowledge that they know and have experienced. For example, when they make an estimate about how many Unifix cubes long something is, what makes them think that? What tells them it's a reasonable estimate? This is a hard habit for students to grasp at such a young age but developing evidence-based reasoning is powerful - let's develop it early! I encourage you to explore measuring - especially estimating first - with your child at home. Here are some questions you might ask:
As students celebrated the Lunar New Year, I thought it would be a great opportunity to incorporate more of our work with measuring. Students practiced using chopsticks (it was adorable to watch) to pick up a "noodle" (aka a piece of yarn) from a noodle bowl, measured and compared the noodle they picked with the one their partner picked up. It was a fun and silly way to reinforce what we've learned. Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter. Picture Gallery: Kinders in PJs, Measuring "Noodles" and Classroom Objects
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June 2016
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