A Study on Schoolchildren's Understanding of Scales of the Size of Animals

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine schoolchildren's understanding of scales of the size of animals. We asked university students to guess the scale of the size of animals, and to guess the animal which fitted their own scales. Based on the results, we asked schoolchildren to choose the biggest animal from a giraffe, an elephant and a snake shown at fictitious sizes, and to choose the biggest animal from a giraffe, an elephant and a snake shown in their real sizes. We compared the answers among the second, fourth, and sixth graders. The findings of this study are as follows: 1) Many university students used height, weight and length as scales for the size of animals. They estimated a giraffe to be the highest animal, an elephant to be the heaviest animal, and a snake to be the longest animal. 2) When we showed a giraffe, an elephant and a snake at fictitious sizes, the second graders thought about the biggest animal using a scale of height, but the fourth and the sixth graders thought about the biggest animal using scales of weight and length. 3) When we showed them the animals in their real sizes, the second graders thought about the biggest animal using a scale of height, but the fourth and sixth graders thought about the biggest animal using a scale of weight.