Reply To: 1-4 – Why The Unit of Measure Matters – Discussion

[Nina Villanova]

Big take away is that I haven’t been clear enough in defining units of measure – I’m a first year teacher, and I’m always astounded at how literal I have to be (even when I think I’m being super literal). It is so helpful to see how – when clearly defined – it is easier to introduce more complex ideas.

I wonder about swithching from abstract measurements (like blue dots and green squares) to concrete units, how students will react when we move beyond what they can actually measure. Centimeters are easy, most of them will have a ruler and probably try to measure, but when we switch from meter to kilometer, I wonder how many will let go of the security blanket of the ruler and trust the process.