Inquiry into Measurement

Some snapshots from our Inquiry into Measurement...

16th May – Maths Menu

One option was measuring large squiggly lines and spirals with chains, wool, measuring tapes or anything else. Several children started joining all of the chains together and running outside to measure the school.

17th May

Measuring meeting to plan what and how we are going to measure. First I showed the children the video of them yesterday (excited but chaotic).

• So, we could try and count it, maybe. And, or maybe we could use a lot of rulers so we can measure it. And if we count then it would be easier. Maybe we should be quieter.
• I think we should just measure Bicicletta, and if the chain runs out we could use rulers. 
• I think I could count up to 676 before, so I can count each chain so I know how long it is. 
• We can just look we make a bit longer because it’s a bit tiny. We make it longer longer, longer than snakes. 
• You could try measuring from the front door to Bicicletta’s door where you usually come in (entrance to school, Glenda’s gate).

A child from 1/2/3 who was watching the children yesterday shared with us his strategy for counting the number of links in the chain. Then we can measure something as n-chains long.

• We can measure Bicicletta by measuring from the castle area to the other end.
• You actually could, everyone could hold one bit of the chain and then we join it and then we could count it (as we make it). 
• We could bring some rope or anything to make it longer.  
• Child from 1/2/3: You could also count the rope by inches, like 100 chains and 10 inches of rope is how long our classroom is. 

31st May 

By this point, I had proposed to children that they start by measuring the purple slide in the Colourfuls, working in teams and comparing results and strategies. Today we watched videos from yesterday’s measurement of the slide.

What did they do differently?

• Child B’s doing it in the middle of the slide and Child A’s doing it on the side of the slide.
• Child B: And he was leaving spaces. 
• When Child A did it he put spaces in the middle and Child B did it like this, without any spaces. When Child A did it it’s not measuring because there are gaps so it won’t tell you how long the slide is. Child B did it properly. 
• She went on the side of the slide, but she was meant to go in the middle.

Why do you think Child A & B got different results?

• ‘Cause she slipped.
• Because slide is steep. She measured with one hand and that’s not big enough for to measure. You need a bigger one. I don’t know. 
• Because Child B slipped a bit and ‘cause she was in the middle and when she accidently went to the slide she might have slipped a few numbers. 
• Because Child A did gaps and Child B didn’t.

Child A & B come up here – I’d like to look at your hands. Why would I want to look at their hands?

• To see whose hands are bigger.
• I was going to say that. Just to see if someone’s hands are bigger, they could have got bigger hands, the smaller would make a bigger number, and the bigger hands would make a smaller number.  
• I was going to say what child C said because child A’s hands are bigger then he would get a smaller number, and if child B’s hands are smaller she will get a bigger number. 
• Child A did it in a better way because if you measure it with your feet and you hold on that makes you not slip and slide. 
• When she counted 10, she went back to 30 when she was actually meant to say 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109. 
• She got a few gaps when she was counting the chain. 

13th June - Maths menu

Children still running the chain down the slide and counting by ones, getting a different result each time. I guided the children to keep the length of chain that runs from the start to end of the slide and take it inside, keeping it separately from the rest of the chains. This way, we can try some different strategies inside.

14th June - the next day in Project Time

Introducing the chain as another option in Project Time.

What are some other strategies? Counting by ones wasn’t working.

• We could count by tens.
• Or fives! 
• Child D: I can count to 100. I think what I could do is… I could get the chains into colours so I can… so I just thinked about that.

What would you do to make it easier to count?

• Child D: Count the colours. (He then proceeded to count the number of yellow links – 17. Wrote 17 on board when prompted).

What would you need to do next?

• Child D: Count the greens… 19.
• I think he could actually count the colours but you make chains that are one colour, like lots of chains that are one colour, so then you know… 
• If you counted the colours, what you could do is you could go, 6, 1, 3, 5, like count them, like put them in any number. Skip a number. Like 5, 2.

Genevieve modelled skip counting by 2s using the number line. We then discussed the importance of the systematic nature of skip counting.

In small groups, we recorded our thinking about measurement with the following thinking routine: What do we measure? How do we measure? Why do we measure? Further questions and wonderings. Some of these are displayed here for your viewing. We then came together to create a document that combined all of the groups’ thinking, which is displayed here for you to look at.

We haven’t yet finished our inquiry into movement – this is just where we are up to!