WAJ31 05 Numerical Literacy

Building the concept of measuring units through the use of non-standard

units followed by standard units directly.

Consolidating the concept of measuring units through the use of measuring

instruments.
a

Developing the relationship between standard units of measurement.

Performing arithmetic operations involving standard units for length, mass

and volume of liquid.

Solving daily problems involving standard units for length, mass and volume of liquid.
At the early stage, activities involving direct comparison of length, mass and volume

of liquid helps children to understand the meaning of each attribute. Then, children
need to be made aware that direct comparison may not be possible at times such

as comparing the heights of two trees without chopping them down. Therefore
activities involving indirect comparison will help children to develop the idea of "unit" as a point of reference for comparing two quantities.

Children's concept of measuring units is first developed through the use of nonstandard units. This will lead to the idea of using standard units for consistency. For both the non-standard and standard units, children normally learn through the
following sequence:

a a a

recognising the unit of measurement,

estimating using the unit, and measuring using the unit.

Estimating using measurement unit is an important process that your pupils must undergo because estimating encourages them to think and help them to acquire "measurement sense". Therefore, it is beneficial that you always encourage your pupils to estimate before making any measurement. ln addition, learning to read scales is a major emphasis in.using standard instruments to measure length, mass

and volume. Apart from using conventional measuring instruments, you should
also give your pupils the opportunity to make their own measuring instruments.
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