Family Math Letter

Grade 1: Unit 4
Sorting, Comparing,
and Ordering
Dear Family,

Our class will be working on a unit focused on measurement. Your child

will measure with a variety of non-standard units such as cubes, tiles,
paper clips, and/ or paper cutouts. We will investigate the idea that
different-sized units result in different measurements.
During this unit, we will learn how to tell time to the hour and half hour on
analog and digital clocks. We will be looking at the relationship between
the minute and hour hand. In addition students will sequence daily
activities and compare duration of events.

Throughout this unit, students will be working towards these goals:

BENCHMARKS/GOALS EXAMPLES

Demonstrate accurate
techniques when measuring
a distance with nonstandard
units. These techniques
include starting at the
beginning, ending at the
end, leaving no gaps or
overlaps, measuring in a
straight line and keeping
track of the number of units.

Know at least one way of

describing a measurement
that falls between two whole
numbers.
Understand that the same
result should be obtained
when the same object is
measured twice or when two
different people measure the
same object (using the same
unit).
Dave measured a book. He found it was
12 small paper clips long. Then Carla
measured the same book and found
that it was 15 small paper clips long.
Can both answers be right? What could
have happened?

How far is this distance in big feet and

Understand that measuring in little feet? Why are the counts

Adapted from Pearson Education, Inc. Grade 1 June 2013

with different-sized units will different? Throughout this unit, students
result in different numbers. are learning to use consistent units to
measure.

___________________________________

Tell time to the half hour.

Tell time to the hour.

This standard calls for What is your favorite flavor of

students to work with ice cream?
categorical data by Chocolate 12
organizing, representing and Vanilla 5
interpreting data. Students Strawberry 6
should have experiences
posing a question with 3
possible responses and then
work with the data that they
collect.

Throughout this unit, students are learning to use consistent non-

standard units to measure accurately and to understand the underlying
mathematics of measuring. Students will be posing questions,
collecting data, making representations of the data they collect and
interpreting information.

Related Activities to Try at Home

Adapted from Pearson Education, Inc. Grade 1 June 2013

Picture Diary: Help your child keep a picture diary of one activity
he/she did each day for a week. Ask your child to write the name of
the day and the time the activity was done beside each picture.
Discuss with your child about how long each activity took.

Clocks: Practice telling time using clocks in your home (analog and
digital).

Measuring with Hands and Feet Have your child choose an object
or distance and measure it with his or her hands (wrist to fingertip) and
feet (heel-to-toe steps). Then your child can record each object as a
specific number of hands or feet. As an extension, your child can
compare the measurements that other members of your family get
when using their hands or feet.

Math and Literature

Here are some childrens books that involve measurement and data.
You can find them in your local library or bookstore and read them with
your child.

Jim and the Beanstalk, by Briggs, Raymond

Guess How Much I Love You, by McBratney, Sam
Super Sand Castle Saturday, Murphy, Stuart J
Math Counts: Length, by Pluckrose, Henry
The Line Up Book, by Russo, Marisabina
If You Hopped Like a Frog, by Schwartz, David
This Is the Way We Eat Our Lunch, by Baer, Edith
The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room, by Berenstain, Jan and
Stan
Would You Rather . . . ., by Burningham, John
What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile?, by Judy Sierra
Ten Minutes Till Bedtime, by Peggy Rathmann
Bunny Day: Telling Time from Breakfast to Bedtime, by Rick Walton
The Grouchy Ladybug, by Eric Carle

Sincerely,
First-Grade Teachers

Adapted from Pearson Education, Inc. Grade 1 June 2013