Measuring Up!

The students experimented with measurement last week. First they made predictions about who had the longest or shortest ribbon just by viewing them with their eyes. We talked about comparing length and decided the best way to be sure which was the longest or shortest would be to measure them. I asked the students if it would be fair to measure the winner of a race if one person got to start in the middle and the rest had to start in the back. Of course they said it would be unfair. I then explained that it was the same with measurement - you have to start at the end. You also have to start with the same units of measurement. The students then measure craft sticks using Lima beans and pop cubes. We discussed that if you measure with a smaller unit of measurement it will take more units than if you measured with a larger unit of measurement. The students then chose three items from around the room that they measured independently with pop cubes.

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