U for Units (of Measurement)

See what we did for other letters in the Alphabet in Simple Science.

U for Units of Measurement

Science Notebook Page (Click the picture to print).

     Background

We started out talking about how units of measurement are what we use to measure things like length, weight, volume, time, etc.  We also briefly talked about how we use a standard unit so that different people can compare measurements.  We used the example of how if Xander measured his table in crayons and I measured it in markers, we'd come up with different numbers, even though the table is the same size.  We discussed how we used units of measurement every time we made pancakes or cookies so that we got the correct amounts of each ingredient.  We also read a bunch of books.
  

We also just kind of measured a bunch of things.

How Tall Are You?

Materials:

Butcher Paper
Marker
Random toys/household objects
Ruler

Procedure:
I wanted to help illustrate the need for a standard unit of measurement for each characteristic.  To do that I traced Xander on a large piece of paper.  I marked the top of his head and the bottom of his feet and we started measuring him.  We measuring him in feet, inches, markers, and Frisbee.  We would have kept going, but ran out of time.  Then I asked him in the length of his person changed in between times we measured.  Since it did not, why is it that we got different numbers?

Then Xander colored his person.



Units of Measure Sensory Play
Since we did Units of Measure for Science, I made a measuring sensory bin.  I used oatmeal for the based.  I found measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a liquid measuring cup at the dollar store.  The scale I stole from my dad's kitchen.  The muffin tray is from our Bake and Decorate Cupcake set.  I also threw in some silicone cupcake liners.  We got to talk about how two half cups equals a cup and three teaspoons equals a tablespoon, etc.

 

Then I let him take his measuring cups and spoons out on the deck with a couple of bowls of water.  He had a blast just pouring back and forth.

Comparing Weights
I got out Xander's balance and put seven counting bears in one side.  Then I asked him how many colored tiles that would equal if we were using colored tiles as the unit of measure.  Then we got out pop beads, learning links, and other manipulatives (I just got out the box of math manipulatives) to compare weights.  He enjoyed it much more than I had expected.

Check out my Alphabet in Simple Science Pinterest Board for more ideas!