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Math Strands

Types

for

Audience

Special Topics

Measurement

Measurement is any process that produces a quantitative description of an attribute, such as length, circumference, weight, temperature, volume, or number. Measurement is an essentially mathematical procedure that we apply in many different contexts. In our daily life, we often wish to know how many beats per measure, how many more minutes until preschool is over, how hot it is today, or whether I am taller than my friend. In all these circumstances, we use some kind of comparison process to measure or to answer the question “how much?” or “how many?” Attributes like length and capacity are more readily apparent and meaningful to young children than less visible ideas like temperature and time.

Copyright: Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.

Up to my Knees by Grace Lin
Series: Book Ideas

From Sunflowers to Friendship: Four Meaningful Math Books on Measurement

May 1, 2024

Measurement is a topic with a lot of early math big ideas and books are wonderful portals to explore them. Plus, children’s books provide an easy platform for repeated, playful conversation. When reading books about…

  • Topic: Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade
  • Tags Family Math, Measurement, math
kitchen math, mathematical structures
Series: Ideas at Work January 26, 2021

3 Ways to See Mathematical Structure in Everyday Kitchen Math

Cooking with kids is a natural way to do math together. But we're not talking about turning meal preparation into a formal math lesson. Cooking together presents an opportunity that is more about noticing and…

  • Topic: Pattern, Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Family Math
outside activities for kids math obstacle course
Series: Ideas at Work July 13, 2020

Taking Math Out for a Spin: Outside Activities for Kids That Have Math

Warm weather and more daylight hours mean now is a great time to take advantage of outdoor spaces. There are so many ways to incorporate math into your child’s outside activity.

  • Topic: Measurement, Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Play, Family Math
dishes-math-tasks-chores-636x363-2
Series: Ideas at Work April 28, 2020

Dishing Up the Math: Tasks at Home Can Become Math Time

Every day dishes need to get cleaned, and every day dishes need to get put away. By involving children in tasks like doing the dishes, you can help them see mathematics in this work.

  • Topic: Measurement, Spatial Relationships
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Family Math, En Español
Measurable Attributes Ordering Similar Objects
Series: Adult Learning February 27, 2019

Ordering Similar Objects by Measurable Attributes

Early childhood teacher candidates engage in an adult learning activity that has them order and reorder objects by size according to different attributes.

  • Topic: Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Adult Learners, Pre-K, Kindergarten
Series: Adult Learning February 24, 2019

Math-Related Greeting Builds Safe Learning Community

Our Learning Labs open with greetings that serve the dual purpose of building a safe learning community while introducing a math topic in a fun, accessible way. Here, adults directly compare the lengths of paper…

  • Topic: Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Adult Learners, Pre-K, Kindergarten
Series: Ideas at Work September 20, 2017

A Flurry of Ideas for Winter Math Activities

It’s autumn, which means there’s a feeling that cold weather is on its way. A small comfort in the changing weather is that it offers some opportunities for winter math activities.

  • Topic: Number Operations, Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
  • Tags Graphing, Shoes, Seasonal, Nature
Series: Book Ideas August 14, 2017

Three Books for the Last Days of Summer that Splash into Math

Here are some refreshing books about water and ocean fun that inspire mathematical thinking for summer months. Dive right in!

  • Topic: Number Operations, Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade
  • Tags Animals, Seasonal, Books, Audrey Wood, Ann Jonas, Splash, Ten Little Fish, Blue Sea, Robert Kalan, Measurement
Alma and How She Got Her Name Juana Martinez-Neal
Series: Book Ideas June 21, 2017

What’s So “Big” about Measurement Concepts for Young Children?

Two books that are common in homes and classrooms are great jumping off spots for exploring important concepts of measurement.

  • Topic: Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Pre-K, Kindergarten
  • Tags Animals, Big and Small, Books, Three Little Pigs, Juana Martinez-Neal, Alma and How She Got Her Name
Size and Pattern With Balls and Tubes
Series: Focus on Play February 28, 2017

Size and Pattern with Balls and Tubes

This simple interaction between caregiver and toddler is a demonstration of very early mathematical concepts, or "precursor concepts."

  • Topic: Precursor Concepts, Pattern, Measurement
  • Age/Grade Level: Infants, Toddlers
  • Tags Toddlers
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