• Adult Learning Activity
  Ordering Objects by Size

  

  ◉ To do this activity, you will need 5 or 6 objects of a similar sort (containers, books, blocks, writing implements, or …)

      ◉ You will need to touch and move the objects, so don’t choose anything that might break.

  

  ↓ For each slide, please press play for audio
  

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size ◉ Arrange your set of objects from smallest to biggest.    ◉ Make a list of your items numbered from 1 for the smallest up to however many you have for the biggest.

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size ◉ Now, arrange your objects from smallest to biggest in a different way. Again, number the order.

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size ◉ Now, arrange your objects from smallest to biggest in a different way. Again, number the order.    ◉ How different is it from the first order?    ◉ Repeat, if possible.    ◉ Do different types of objects have different numbers of ways to order them?

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size ◉ Look at a photo of four cups. Order them from biggest to smallest.    ◉ Use the letters to keep track of the order.

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size Order them from biggest to smallest. Use the letters to keep track of the order.

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size Cups Ordered by Height

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size Cups Ordered by Top Diameter

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size Cups Ordered by Bottom Diameter

• Adult Learning Activity Ordering Objects by Size Cups Ordered by Capacity (how much volume they hold)

• Attribute

  

  What kind of “BIG” is it?
  

  

• Comparison

  Size is always relative.

  
  
  

  Is a bucket big or small?
  

• Comparison

  Size is always relative.

  
  
  

  A bucket is bigger than a thimble.

• Comparison

  Size is always relative.

  
  
  

  A bucket is smaller than a trash cart.

• Comparison

  
  

  ◉ objects may be compared directly         ❍ “ordering objects” activity ◉ objects may be compared indirectly         ❍ pacing off         ❍ string         ❍ rulers, measuring tapes & other tools ◉ all comparisons must be fair

  

• Precision

  
  

  ◉ using units allows us to quantify measurements ◉ different units are useful for different purposes         ❍ attribute being measured (length, capacity, weight, etc)         ❍ situation for using measurement (route to work, buying carpet, doing surgery, etc)

• Big Ideas of Measurement

  Topic	Big Ideas	Examples
  Attributes	Many different attributes can be measured, even when measuring a single object.	A bucket has many measurable attributes, including height, weight, capacity, or circumference: What kind of “big” is it?
  Comparison	All measurement involves a “fair” comparison.	Weighing rocks on a pan balance (direct comparison); using a length of string to measure a table in one room and chairs in another (indirect comparison).    A “fair” comparison measures the same attribute. Units must be of equal size, with no gaps or overlaps.
  Precision	Quantifying a measurement helps us describe and compare more precisely.	Nonstandard units (such as blocks) and standard units (such as inches) allow for more precision than direct comparison.    There is always a more precise measurement possible – we never get it exactly “right,” but it must be “good enough” for the task at hand.

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

• Brain Booster: How Many Steps?

  

• Brain Booster: How Many Steps?

  ◉ Test your predictions. Were they correct or close? Was one closer than the other?       ◉ Have you had any new thoughts about measurement while figuring this out?

• Developmental progression of children
  understanding measurement

  Measurement is a complex combination of concepts and procedures that develops over years. ◉ At 2 years, children intuitively compare, order, and build with materials. They may use gesture to indicate attribute because they lack vocabulary for specific dimensions. ◉ At 3 years, children identify length as attribute. They often understand length as an absolute (“I am tall.”) but not as a comparison (“I am taller than my brother but shorter than my sister.”) ◉ By 4 years, children directly compare two objects to determine which is longer, taller, holds more, and so on. ◉ 4- and 5-year olds can begin to use indirect comparison. Also, children show an interest in assigning numbers to measures.

• Stop and Jot

  Read (or review) chapter 5, “measurement,” in the Big Ideas book before making plans about sharing this content with others

  
  Jot down your ideas about using what you’ve learned when you facilitate learning about measurement.
  

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