Measuring Distance, Area and Volume

Day 2: Measuring Distances, Areas and Volumes


We decided whether to use distance, area or volume when measuring.

Here are the items we chose to measure.
height of the chair
distance from one kid to the next
size of the face of the book
how much the block box could hold
size of the chair seat

First the kids decided whether to measure in inches, square inches or cubic inches.

Next, they decided how they would measure the items, and began. The first time the seat was measured, one square inch squares were slid across the surface and counted. The second time, they switched to a rectangle of paper which contained 12 square inches.

Finally they realized they could use a tape measure to make the task go even quicker. Since the seat was perfectly square, measuring and calculating the area also provided an opportunity to discuss estimation, accuracy and rounding.

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