ABSTRACT
This chapter emphasises the practical nature of measuring and the importance of drawing on learners' intuitive understandings and knowledge of measurement in order to develop their skills and outlines the big ideas. It illustrates the importance of developing a language of 'measurement' in young children and engaging them actively in carrying out measurement as the only way to learn about 'measurement'. The chapter suggests that a useful way both to develop and reinforce the skills of measurement through a cross-curricular project is by asking children to make containers of appropriate sizes. In their book Children Doing Mathematics published in 1996, Terezinha Nunes and Peter Bryant show how children can be very successful in mathematical activities outside the classroom as they bring their intuitive understandings to bear on everyday problems. Children Doing Mathematics explore children's prior understandings of measurement in the way that Martin Hughes examines young children's capacity to develop calculation skills outside of the formal classroom.
