Measurement: Early Learning Before Formal Units

Measurement is something we use every single day, but it isn’t always taught in a way that makes sense to children, especially for those catching up on missed foundation skills.

The good news? Measurement can be one of the most hands-on, real-world, enjoyable areas of maths and you don’t need fancy equipment or a textbook to teach it. Whether you’re home schooling, travelling, or simply trying to boost your child’s confidence, this guide will help you turn everyday moments into learning opportunities. Use these ideas to build confidence and essential foundation skills with measurement.

Attributes and language

Before children can measure anything, they first need to know what attribute they’re comparing. Is it length, mass, volume, area, temperature, angle or time? I remember sitting in a math class being asked to give the area of a garden diagram and measuring the perimeter and writing this as my answer. I didn’t understand the attribute, what I was measuring. Start with the simple one’s, length, mass and volume then bring in the other areas as they come up. When you are using some of the ideas below remember that children must know what they are trying to find out. If at anytime they are confused about this or just guessing explain it using the language below.

Length tells us how long something is from one end to the other. We use it when we talk about things being longer, shorter, taller, or wider.

Mass tells us how heavy or light something is. It’s what we feel when we pick something up and think, “Wow, this is heavy!” or “This feels light!”

Time tells us how long something takes or when something happens. We use it to know how long until dinner, how quickly we can eat dinner, or what time we have dinner.

Volume tells us how much space something can hold, usually inside a container. We use it when we fill cups, water bottles, lunch containers, or buckets.

Area tells us how much flat space something covers. Think about the space a mat takes on the floor or how big a page is.

Temperature tells us how hot or cold something is. We feel it in the weather, in our food, or when we touch something warm or chilly.

An angle tells us how much something turns or opens. If a door is open a little, that’s a small angle; open wide, that’s a big angle.

Measurement language is essential, as children do not start measurement with rulers,  they start with words. Words like big, small, tall, short, heavy, light, hot, cold, and later, longer, shorter, heavier, lighter, warmer, cooler. You can build so much learning simply by modelling the right language during daily routines.

Try these simple prompts:

• “Your shoes look smaller than mine.”

• “This pan feels heavier than that one.”

• “Was yesterday’s walk longer than todays?”

Making Direct Comparisons (Lining Things Up!)

Before children measure with units, they must learn to compare 2 things directly.

This means:

• Lining up objects that are being compared by placing them side by side (who’s stick is longer/shorter?)

• Overlapping shapes to compare area (is my paper square bigger than yours?)

• Pouring water from one container to another (who has the most water left in their bottle?)

• Holding objects in each hand to compare mass (what weighs more, an apple or a banana?)

Fun practice ideas:

• Line up sticks, shells, or Lego pieces to compare lengths.

• Gather multiple containers and pour one into the other to see which holds more.

• Race two tasks and see which takes longer (“You tidy your books, I’ll fold the tea towels—ready, set, go!”).

• “Which water bottle holds more?”- make a guess by looking at it first then lift it and see if you want to change your answer (to extend understanding use water bottles with different girths as the height of the water can be the same but one will be heavier.

Indirect Comparison (Using Units Like Blocks, Hand Spans, or String)

Sometimes objects can’t be put side by side. This is where children need to use units either non-standard (hand spans, blocks, shells) or standard (centimetres, metres, litres, etc) to measure objects. Once the object has been measured with a unit it can be compared to another object measured with the same unit to determine what object is longer, bigger etc.

Here’s what children need to understand:

• The unit/s must stay the same. If we are comparing the length of 2 lines drawn in the sand, we need to use the same object to measure them to get an accurate measurement.  If we use an adult shoe for one and a child’s shoe for the other the objects have not been measured correctly because 1 unit was bigger then the other. As students move towards standard units having them in the same unit (and being able to convert them if necessary) makes comparison easy.

• No gaps, no overlaps. Whether using blocks, cups, or cm — they must touch so all the space is filled, having gaps or overlaps will change result and give an incorrect measurement.

• Use the right-sized unit for the job. Blocks for measuring a table? Fine. Blocks for measuring the length of the caravan?… You’ll be there forever. Choosing the correct unit will be essential once standard units are being used, measuring a fence in cm, while doable, would result in an unmanageable number.

  
  

Easy ways to practise at home:

• Use feet to measure lines drawn on the beach.

• Measure the table with Lego pieces (remember to use the same sized pieces or the result will not be the same).

• Use the same cup to compare two containers of water.

Estimation

Estimation is one of the most valuable but often overlooked skills when measuring. It helps children make quick, reasonable guesses based on what they know. Use estimation when accuracy doesn’t matter, it’s not practical to measure something, the quantity is too big or you want children to think, not guess. Children build estimation skills by developing referents (things they know the size of) therefore it is important to estimate using a range of different units like the length of their foot, the width of their finger, one big step, a full cup and how long a minute/hour is. Building these referents will mean that children have a unit of measurement that will serve them throughout their life while estimating.

How to build estimation naturally:

• “How many steps do you think it is from the caravan to the playground?”

• “Do you think this bottle holds more or less than a cup?”

• “How long do you think it’ll take to pack up camp?”

Bringing It All Together

When your child uses comparison words, lines things up, measures with simple units and makes reasonable guesses they’re building the exact measurement foundations used later for:

✔ perimeter

✔ area

✔ volume

✔ fractions

✔ data analysis

✔ geometry

✔ algebra

Small, everyday conversations and quick activities will teach these skills more effectively than a full workbook ever could. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear your thoughts.