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Clarifications: Each clarification provides an explanation of the indicator/objective to help teachers better understand the concept. Classroom examples are often included to further illustrate the concept. While classroom examples could be shared with the students, the intended audience for the explanation/clarification is the classroom teacher-not the student. In addition, classroom examples may or may not reflect the assessment limits.

Standard 3.0 Knowledge of Measurement

Topic B. Measurement Tools

Indicator 1. Measure in non-standard units

Objective a. Measure length of objects

Clarification

When relating a mathematics task to a classroom event, students are provided an experience that connects to their lives. An example of such a task would be for students to measure the length of toy dinosaurs with snap cubes. Using familiar objects such as non-standard units (e.g., counting bears, pencils, crayons) helps students to understand the basic measuring process. When telling the results of an object that has been measured, students should be expected to tell the unit as well. For example, "7 paper clips long or 5 snap cubes long."
 

With repeated experiences, students begin to understand that some non-standard units are more efficient than others for measuring a specific attribute of an object. These experiences then lead to the understanding of the need for a "standard unit" in later years.
/instruction/clarification/mathematics/gradePK/xml/3B1a.xml
Resources for Objective 3.B.1.a:
CLARIFICATIONS | Prerequisites | Lesson Seeds | Thinking Skills | Sample Assessments |