See PDF version: Measuring Experiences for Young Children» [PDF, 345KB]

Problem introduction
The prekindergarten class had a problem that was initiated by an actual event. With the addition of new blocks in the construction center, many children had been intensely involved in building a new city. Their creation indicated creativity and persistence.  Unfortunately, when the class went outside, one of the classroom gerbils escaped and destroyed or rearranged much of their creation. After tears were dried and the gerbil was returned to his home, the children decided to make “building plans” to help them remember what their creation looked like. They drew the plans and measured how tall and fat the blocks were. The problem was expanded when a builder loaned plans to the class. The teacher provided pieces of rolled butcher paper and wax pencils to the young architects.

Observed investigations
Children’s representations were unique and, in most cases, identifiable. They eagerly drew their constructions, elicited the assistance of fifth-grade helpers to record their words and numbers, signed their names to their plans, and stored the rolled plans in the “plan bin.” In some cases, they added digital photos of the creations to their plans. On following days, children selected their peers’ plans and created constructions that matched the plan, at least in their eyes. They often consulted each other about their specific plans to make sure they “did them right.”

Problem conversations
Many peer interactions consisted of directions (“Put the big ones on top” or “No, not the pointy one—the tall block!”) or comparison phrases (“Mine was bigger. It was up to here” or “Yours goes more this way”). In addition, communications occurred between the children and their fifth-grade scribes. Children described their constructions as “5 pounds tall,” “20 zillion big,” or “7 fat.” The scribes recorded exactly what the children stated and questioned their answers only if they could not hear them. Later, the children shared the drawings, and their classmates and the teacher asked for clarification of their representations. The children added words or pictures as directed.

Follow-up activities
The teacher added commercially purchased task cards for different types of block constructions to the plan bin. The cards included height measurements such as a picture of a cube tower with a length of five paper clips. The teacher challenged children to make constructions that matched the cards.

Connection to the Standards
The opportunity for children to use measurement in a realistic way was a primary focus of this activity. Representation is an important Standard; children represented their construction to solve the initial problem and then used the created representations to rebuild the constructions. In addition, some children began to “understand how to measure using nonstandard and standard units” and to “use tools to measure,” expectations listed in the Measurement Standard (NCTM 2000, p. 102).