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Measurement Ideas

As a student, I never took the time to consider what measurement actually means. Chapter 14 discusses what measurement means and the implication it has on understanding measurement in math. TCSM defines measurement as "a number that indicates a comparison between an attribute of the object (or situation or event) being measured and the same attribute of a given unit of measure (341). By understanding measurement as a comparison method, students will begin to understand how an object can be measured using different units that describe the objects weight, volume/ capacity, length, or area. With the definition of measurement in mind, one way teachers can help their students gain conceptual knowledge of measurement is by helping them create models that demonstrate the idea of space and units that can be iterated to measure an attribute of an object. I like the idea of revisiting iteration and discussing how it is also used in measurement, which can ultimately reinforce fraction concepts as well. Iteration is an important topic to discuss in context to measurement, because it establishes the idea of units and having several of the same unit within length, width, etc. Another pedagogical idea that stood out to me was how teachers should introduce unit conversions. TCSM discusses the importance of establishing students' conceptual knowledge before introducing procedures with unit conversions. Rather than teaching students to convert one unit to another simply by moving decimal points, the authors suggest teachers first begin by teaching what is actually happening when you change the place value of a number. Doing so will also help revisit ideas about place value and the importance of decimals. 

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