Math » Unit 08: Measurement, Comparison, and Application (9 Weeks)


Title:
Unit 08: Measurement, Comparison, and Application

Recommended Timeline:

20 days

Unit Descriptor:

This unit focuses on several different skills and concepts including use of location words, combining, separating, counting, measurement, and patterns. Although the skills and concepts have a different focus, all can be used in conjunction with one another. This idea encourages a deeper understanding of how parts works together.

Prior to this unit, students extended the use of counting concepts and mathematical relationships to develop the foundation of operations. Students used concrete objects, pictorial models, and acted out a situation to model and represent joining and separating problems. Students used these representations to solve contextual addition and subtraction problems involving sums and minuends up to 5. Students also focused on identifying measurable attributes of objects, including length, height, and weight. In addition, students explored two-dimensional figures and their attributes to discern different shapes from one another.

During this unit, students extend the use of counting concepts and mathematical relationships to develop the foundation of operations. Students use concrete objects, pictorial models, and acting out a situation to model and represent joining and separating problems. Students use these representations to solve contextual addition and subtraction problems involving sums and minuends up to 5. Students develop an understanding of numbers 0 – 9, cardinality, subitizing, conservation of set, comparing numbers and sets of objects. They use sets of objects up to 5 to develop an understanding of the concepts of hierarchical inclusion, and conservation of set. Students also focus on identifying measurable attributes of objects, including length, height, weight, and capacity.

After this unit, students will continue to build on the skills of counting, adding and subtracting, geometry and spatial sense, measurement, classification and patterns through the use of concrete objects and pictorial representations. Additionally, math concepts will expand to include abstract representations.

According to Copley (2010), “To lay the foundation for measurement, teachers involve young children in a lot of comparing. In fact, comparison is the core activity and concept that starts children on the path to fully developed understanding and use of measurement” (p. 125). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2003) states, “Recognizing which attributes of physical objects are measurable is the starting point for studying measurement, and very young children begin their exploration of measurable attributes by looking at, touching, and comparing physical things directly” (p. 2).

Copley, J. (2010). The young child and mathematics. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2003). Navigating through measurement in pre-kindergarten – grade 2. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc.



This content is for Pre-K Outcomes Framework members only.