Measurement Work Stations

I think my goal for next year will be trying to integrate the teaching of measurement all year long instead of just during the measurement chapter in our math book. In the past one way I have tried to sneak in measuring throughout the year is by connecting it to seasonal themes. For example, during October we always take a field trip to the pumpkin patch. We then learn how to estimate and measure how tall our pumpkins are with unifix cubes and a ruler, measure the circumference of the pumpkin with a piece of string, and even weigh the pumpkins on the nurse's scale! The kids love our pumpkin math! I also have used candy hearts on Valentine's Day and jellybeans in the spring to let the kids do some measuring with nonstandard units.

I have found that kindergarteners love learning measurement through lots of open exploration. One of the activities that my students always enjoy doing is using all sorts of measuring cups and tools to scoop and measure things in our discovery table (sand, water, beans, etc.). Comparing weights using a balance is also usually a very popular activity--kids love to get their hands on that balance! I also always let the kids have fun measuring anything they want to in our room with just about any measuring tool they want (unifix cubes, links, rulers, etc.). Just add a recording sheet to any of these activities and they would make a great measurement work station.

There are also lots of great children's books you can use to teach about measurement. One good book to introduce measuring length in standard and nonstandard units is Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy; it's about a little girl and her dog who go around measuring lots of things in their world. Another good book to introduce measuring is How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller. A great book to teach about telling time to the hour is The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.

At my school, kindergarteners are expected to learn how to tell time to the hour. Here is a game I made for my students to play after reading The Grouchy Ladybug. Students take turns spinning a time on the spinner and then covering up the corresponding clock on their game board with a ladybug counter. Click here to download What Time Is It?

Another game I made for my students to learn about telling time to the hour is: Pick a Time. I used a package of foam shapes I got from the dollar spot at Target to make the game pieces (but you could also use small pieces of paper or other manipulatives). I wrote different times on the foam shapes, and students take turns pulling a shape out of the bag and reading the time on it. Students can then cover up the corresponding clock on their game board with the game piece. Click here to download a copy of this game.

I hope you got some fun new ideas for measurement activities you can add to your math work stations. For some more great ideas, head over to Lory's page since she is hosting this chapter of the math work stations linky party.