Math

 

 

The children have now finished up with two-dimensional shapes. We did not have enough time to work on the three-dimensional figures, so this unit will be saved to a later time. Instead we will be learning about measurement. The expectation for measurement in Kindergarten is: the children are able to compare and order two or more objects according to an appropriate measure (eg., length, mass, temperature, weight) and use measurement terms such as longer than and shorter than. The main focus at this time will be length. 

 

The children will use non-standard forms of measuring devices, such as footprints, string, cubes, and straws to name a few. In the sand the children will use various containers to discover which container will fill up the sand bucket quicker and why and which container will fill up the sand bucket slower and why.

 

In the construction area the children will build something and then use various materials to measure what they made and discuss which object took more and which took less and why they think this happened?

 

To begin the unit the children will be given a tongue depressor and ask them to go on a hunt in the classroom to find something shorter than the tongue depressor and something longer than it.

 

I want to use this activity as a formative assessment--to see what the children already know. I will not give them a lot of direction, I just give them the stick and let them go forth into the room to find their objects. As they are working, I circulate and talk to the children. I ask them to show me objects that are longer/shorter than the sticks. I ask them How do you know? and What does that mean--shorter? (or longer?) These questions will give me a general idea of where the class stands as a whole in their understanding.

During share time, I will have the children show the rest of the class their examples of longer/shorter objects. The children will demonstrate how they compared the objects. Hopefully some children will be able to show how they lined the objects up at one end.

Next, we  will discuss why it's important to have the objects properly lined up with the stick and what happens if we don't. We will also talk about the words longer, shorter, taller, bigger, and smaller. How are they the same? How are they different? When would you use them? (For example: A giraffe is _____ than I am. This pencil is _____ than the scissors). We talk about what length is.

 

When the children are working in the creation centre I will ask them to find three crayons that are different lengths and to show me the crayons from shortest to longest. Another day they will go on a length hunt and find three things in the room that are different lengths and show them from shortest to longest and then longest to shortest. I plan on taking pictures of these activities and writing their comments and adding them to their learning stories.