The cumulative process indicators related to this standard for grades K-2 deal primarily with investigating patterns of growth and change over time. Students in grades K-2 should investigate many different types of patterns. When these patterns are represented with a bar graph, the tops of the bars can be connected by a straight line, so the pattern represents linear growth. In this situation, when the tops of the bars on a graph are connected, they do not form a straight line. By relating these problems to concrete situations, such as the growth of a plant, students begin to develop a sense of change over time .
Students also begin to develop a sense of change with respect to measurement .
By the end of second grade, they begin to describe the area of objects by counting the number of squares that cover a figure. Again, they should note that it takes more small squares to cover an object than it does large ones. They should also begin to investigate what happens to the area of a square when each side is doubled. Students also need to develop volume concepts by filling containers of different sizes. They might use two circular cans, one of which is twice as high and twice as wide as the other, to find that the large one holds eight times as much as the small one.