How big, how long, how wide? Exploring measuring.

This week in Autahi, we have been exploring how measuring works.

We have been using informal units to measure objects around our school. 

An informal unit of measurement can be just about anything: a plastic cube, a glue stick, a bottle top, a hand span or footprint. We use these to learn what measuring is and how it is done before we start using formal units of measurement, such as centimetres.

By using informal units, we can find out how long, tall or wide different things are. If we measure two things or more things using the same unit of measurement, we can compare them and find out which is the biggest. 

Out in the playground, we found many different ways to use our bodies to measure.

How many children long is the bench?

How many foot widths long is the railing?

Small things need a small unit of measurement. How many fingers long is this piece of wood?

We worked together to make sure that we were measuring accurately.

Back in class, we had a go at using some of our classroom equipment for measuring. How many plastic penguins high is a chair? How many pens long is the red mat? So many questions!

We also tried estimating, or making a good guess, about what the answers to our questions might be. Sometimes we got pretty close to the actual measurement. Sometimes we got a real surprise when we measured.