Building a block tower provides a natural opportunity to measure height. In this scene, children use string and a broom handle to indirectly compare heights of two towers.

At the sand table, ideas and exploration involving capacity is a natural and healthy math opportunity.

Play in pre-k or kindergarten can become an opportunity to explore measurement, as is the case in this classroom moment.

This simple interaction between caregiver and toddler is a demonstration of very early mathematical concepts, or “precursor concepts.” The caregiver assists the toddler in putting balls down tubes, eventually coming to one that doesn’t quite fit. Yes, this is working with the attribute of size. But it also creates a pattern with the balls and tubes.

We see the child and the teacher establish a pattern: the child drops the ball into the tube, hears the clunk of the ball hitting what’s below, and then looks in the tube and sees the last ball she dropped. This goes on until the large balls are introduced and the pattern is broken. The teacher is highly instrumental in establishing and reinforcing this pattern.

Data analysis uses math to make sense of the world. It can be as simple as writing down a list of grocery items and noting in parenthesis the number to purchase.

Eggs (2 cartons)
Bacon (1 package)
Milk (1 gallon)
Yogurt (4 containers)

At the heart of it, data analysis is compiling information and describing it in a quantitative way: how many? That then allows us to organize it, make comparisons, and generalize. All of that is what we want children to do, even at an early age. Mathematics is all about making sense of the world.

Below are a few picture books about children’s favorite topic (animals!) that invite children to explore and find answers to questions involving data.

1. Tiger Math: Learning to Graph from a Baby Tiger by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel

   The zoo is an amazing opportunity to talk about animals. But what about the math? This story of a new tiger cub that needs extra attention from zookeepers is a great way to show the importance of observation and analysis. In order for this cute cub to grow and be healthy, it is important to monitor and think about his growth. It’s also notable for showing the dwindling population of tigers in the wild. What a powerful real-world need to track data.

2. How Many Snails?: A Counting Book by Paul Giganti Jr.

   Data analysis is driven by questions that need to be answered. In How Many Snails? the reader is asked a question from one page to the next, how many? More than a straight-forward counting book, this book uses questions of how many to compare and analyze attributes. A page that asks how many dogs were spotted at the park turns into a question of Were there more dogs with spots or without?. A page of many fish asks not only how many fish, but how many fish are red, as well as how many fish are both red and have their mouths open. This analysis of collections of different animals provides opportunities to delve into making sets in order to count and compare, the foundation of all data analysis.

3. Birds by Kevin Henkes

   This colorful book follows a child as she is fascinated with the birds around her. She uses her imagination and critical thinking to wonder about the important question: IF.

   If birds made marks with their tail feathers when they flew, think what the sky would look like.

   Questions like this create a reason to investigate the world and make predictions. And activities outside of the book can create real data that can be collected and evaluated. If your children counted the number of birds in the tree outside the window at the same time every morning, could they make generalizations after a few days? What if they keep track of the colors of the birds? What IF questions in the world are they interested in?

In real life, we often want to know which is bigger? and who has more? For children it can be very important because they feel that things should be fair. Bigness is often associated with the amount or size of a good thing that is being shared with them, whether it is the number of cookies or the size of the cookie. But those are two different types of “big,” right?

Young children often confuse different ways of describing and comparing size and amount. They think someone who is taller must be older. Most children will also say a tall, narrow glass is bigger than a short, wide one, even though they hold the same amount of water. They need to learn to name the exact attribute they are comparing.

Books are great jumping off spots for exploring measurement concepts and what it means to be “big.” In the award-winning Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal, a father explains to his daughter why she ended up with 6 names. The length of names is highly interesting to young children as they begin to read and write them. You can use connecting blocks of the same size to make name towers for each of Alma’s names. Make sure you use one block for each letter. Then let the discussion begin:

Do any of Alma’s many names have the same number of letters as Alma?

The longest of Alma’s 6 names is Esperanza: What two of her other names could you put together to end up with 9 letters?

Have each child make a name tower using their own first name. Then, children can compare their names to Alma’s names and to each other’s.

How many children’s names are the same length as one of Alma’s? Does anyone have a shorter name than Alma or a longer name than Esperanza?

What if you clap syllables—does that change whose name is longer? (Max and Ava both have 3 letters but Ava has 2 syllables and Max has 1.)

Another great entry point for this concept is the Three Little Pigs, of which there are many great versions. Although the wolf is bigger than the pigs, the third little pig is smarter. Explain what you think is better, to be bigger or smarter. The first two pigs built their houses faster but the third pig’s house was stronger. Explain what you think is better, to finish faster or to make something stronger. Also, you can extend the discussion by building some houses. Work together or in teams. Choose the same number of blocks, maybe 6 or 10, and then use them to build different kinds of houses and discuss in what ways they are “big.” There are many different ways to be big that you can create:

Along the way you can engage children with descriptive language that helps children become more precise in describing and comparing sizes. The ability to use increasingly precise measurement language moves children from “big” to knowing what kind of big such as longer, taller, wider, older, and so on.