Mathematics News

Maths in Foundation

The Foundation students have been learning about length. They were given the task of making five snakes of different lengths and ordering them from shortest to longest. They then measured the snakes using counters.

Look at them in action in the photos below!

Links to the Foundation Mathematics Curriculum - Measuremn

Content Descriptor: Identify and compare attributes of objects and events, including length, capacity, mass and duration, using direct comparisons and communicating reasoning

Elaborations:

using language to describe the measurement attributes of length, mass, capacity and duration, and connecting the words with the appropriate attribute; for example, using words like “tall”, “short”, “wide”, “long”, “high” to describe the attribute of length
directly comparing pairs of objects to say which is longer/shorter, and explaining or demonstrating how they know; for example, standing back-to-back to determine who is taller; choosing to line up the bases of a spoon and fork to decide which is longer and explaining why
starting \(2\) events at the same time to decide which takes longer; for example, putting on a pair of sandals with buckles or Velcro, describing the duration using familiar terms and reasoning, “I took a longer time because I’m still learning to do up my buckles”
directly comparing pairs of everyday objects from the kitchen pantry to say which is heavier/lighter; for example, hefting a tin of baked beans and a packet of marshmallows; comparing the same pair of objects to say which is longer/shorter and discussing comparisons

The Australian Curriculum version 9.0 - Measurement strand