Measurement : Non-standard units

     Using non-standard units before using standard units will help children form a better understanding of the topic and will often help them in comparing and comprehending. Children must understand few rules when come into measurement. 
   
   The rules are no gaps, no overlaps, consistency, and understanding units must be as close as possible in size.

   Children can use all sort of material to measure any length that they want. Teacher can ask them to use their part of body such as arm, fingers and foot to measure other objects. Apart from that, they also can try to use paper clips, ice-cream sticks, and paper rolls.

Picture 1: Paper clips and paper roll.

Picture 2: Ice-cream stick.

   Picture 1 and 2 show two different materials that children can use as non-standard unit measurement.

    One particular activity that children can work on in the class is by measuring body parts (see pictures below). As this is using non-standard units of measurement it is easier for the children to comprehend.

Picture 3: Blue - Neck, Green - Arm and Red - Leg.

   After they have finished with measuring their own body parts, they can compare them with other friends and sorting them into categories.

Picture 4

   Teachers can ask questions to help extend on the idea of  length such as:

   T: Who fore arm is the longest?

   T: Can you order the size of the pinky from the shortest to longest?

    Later, children can use their non-standard unit measurement to measure the length of objects and people in the class. 

Picture 3: Measuring the length of book with paper clips.

      The above picture (Picture 3) shows how children can demonstrate of their understanding in measuring with non-standard unit. Then, they can do the indirect comparison by using the measuring tape (standard unit).

   Teachers can help to strengthen their understanding by prompting questions. For example:

        T: How much paper clips is needed to measure the  

            length of this book?

        S: 9 paper clips.

Picture 4: Measuring the length of table with paper clips.