Measurement is a challenging topic for kindergarten students to grasp, surprisingly enough. There are many components to teaching measurement that can be tricky for students to understand. Today we focused on measuring items using non-standard units – unifix cubes. We began the lesson with a SMART Board activity where students had to use blue unifix cubes to measure a picture frame and a sneaker. We talked about starting at the beginning of the item that is being measured and making sure that the cubes touched the one in front, two of the most challenging components of measuring!

The quality of this photo is not the best, but you get the idea. Students worked together to measure six more items on the SMART Board and then it was time for them to practice measuring on their own.

Earlier in the day I had taped some images of items we use in school around the classroom. Students were to find all 10 of these items and practice measuring them, using unifix cubes. We discussed placing the first cube at the beginning of the school object and then attaching the rest of the cubes together until reaching the end of the item.

The children got right to work, measuring and recording their data. They loved moving around the room to each station with their clip boards.

Students were so engaged in the activity, one could hear a pin drop! Tomorrow, we’ll engage in another measurement center to solidify our learning. Parents, you can reinforce measurement at home by giving your child a nonstandard unit, like goldfish crackers, to use to measure household items. Remember to help your child line the goldfish up, from left to right, making sure there are no gaps. Have fun!