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measurement-definition-measurement-games-1200x800

Big Ideas of Measurement

Big Ideas of Measurement

  1. Big Ideas
  2. Measurement

What is Measurement?

Measurement

Questions about “What’s the biggest?” get raised again and again in early childhood settings. If we want to know just how much bigger the “biggest” one is, we’ll get out a measuring tool: a ruler, a tape measure, or a measuring cup. Alternatively, we might avoid numbers altogether and settle for a direct comparison, lining the containers up tallest to shortest, or from that which holds the most sand to the one that holds the least. In each of these situations, we are engaging in measurement. Technically speaking, 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.

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

Big Ideas

● Quantifying a measurement helps us describe and compare more precisely.
● All measurement involves a “fair” comparison.
● Many different attributes can be measured, even when measuring a single object.

Interested in Book Suggestions?

Browse our favorite children’s books that explore Measurement.

Learn more »

volume of a cube with Child 14

Volume of a Cube with Child 14

This second grader has limited use of structure and a partial understanding of cubic units. Focus on the Child videos are taken from one-on-one interviews with individual children. The interviews are designed to elicit evidence of children’s mathematical thinking.

Comparing Capacity at the Sand Table measurement games measurement definition

Comparing Capacity at the Sand Table

What kind of “big” is it? This question is fundamental to all of measurement. Here, children explore the differences between tall and wide as they decide which bucket holds the most sand.

books about measurement strega nona inch by inch 636x363

4 Books About Measurement that Spur Children’s Thinking

Children measure all of the time, even if they’re not using rulers or numbers while doing so. There are many great children’s books about measurement that spur on children’s natural fascination with the subject.

Measuring a Block Tower with Kindergartners measurement games measurement definition

Measuring a Taller Tower with Kindergartners

Building block towers provides a natural opportunity to measure height. In this scene, children use strings and a broom.

Halloween and Animal Fun While Exploring Big, Bigger, and Biggest

Here are two story books that present opportunities for children to explore the mathematical concepts of measurement, particularly the Big Idea that all measurement involves a “fair” comparison.

Browse all that match this in our Idea Library.

Big Ideas of Early Mathematics:

What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know

The Big Ideas that convey the core concepts of mathematics are at the heart of this book that gives early childhood educators the skills they need to organize for mathematics teaching and learning during the early years.
Order a copy

Online MS in Early Childhood Ed – STEM Focus

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Elevate your practice and strengthen your knowledge of teaching and learning in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with an emphasis on children in preschool through third grade.
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