Measurement activities for kids
Everyone should know how to measure. This skill is taught to children over many years. Each grade introduces more challenging measurement concepts. These skills can be practiced in many ways so that kids are able to progress to the next level of learning.
Measurement Activities for Grade
One of the most important concepts in grade school is measurement. Start with the basics. How is something evaluated in terms of quantity? What is measurement? You can teach the use of uncommon units and help objects to be compared. Next, introduce the standard units. Introduce more complicated measurement concepts and activities as the children progress through the primary grades.
Each grade is different so it's important to teach measurement using grade-appropriate activities and lessons. You can follow the course of study at your school to determine when you should teach which concept. These are activities suitable for all grades that schools usually follow.
- Kindergarten To teach measurement in kindergarten, make sure that children are familiar with basic concepts and vocabulary. Children will soon be able to recognize the basic measurement terms weight, height, and length. Based on these concepts, they also begin to order, compare, and then sort items.
- 1st Grader – Once kids have mastered the basics of measuring, it's time for them to continue learning! Measurement in the 1st Grade builds on students' vocabulary and teaches standard units of measurement. It also provides more opportunities to compare, order, and sort, and allows for further skills such as estimation capacity.
- 2nd Grad – 2nd Grad – This is where you will continue to practice the skills that were previously taught, and it also includes imperial or metric measurements. Children learn about different measurement units, including centimeters, inches, and distance.
Get started with these measurement activities today
There are many interesting ways to teach measurement for kids. These ideas can be used in the classroom and at home. You can adapt each activity to meet the needs of your child.
Non-standard Measurement Activities for Teaching Height, Width, And Length
- Measure with Objects – Have fun measuring with different objects. Instead of measuring the length of a pencil with a ruler, give your children marbles to help them determine how many marbles are needed. Also, you can use cubes, blocks or candy as math manipulatives!
- Measure A Friend– This activity allows children to work together and measure various body parts. They can measure the lengths of their arms and legs with this hands on activity.
- Compare Another way to learn measurement is to compare everyday objects. Have a few objects available for children to compare and then have them arrange the objects. You can arrange them in any order you like, including size and weight.
- Challenge tasks – With challenging tasks, you can get children moving and learning about measurement. Encourage children to search for objects that are "two hands high", such as a hammer.
Use a ruler to teach length, width, and height using standard measurement activities
- Task cards – These are great for teaching kids how to measure using a ruler. They also have prompts like how tall a book is. Instead of task card, kids can use a ruler to measure everything in the room and take measurements.
- Scavenger Hunts This is a great way for kids to learn measurement. Children will have to search for items that match the criteria. One example is to search for objects that are larger than 3 feet in width. They could also search for anything between 5-10 inches long.
- Stations– Place stations around the room so that children can measure and record different objects.
Teaching distance using measurement activities
- Mapping With Cubes – Determine the distance between points using cubes or other math manipulatives including counters and dominoes as well as craft sticks, blocks, pipes, pipe cleaners, and so on. Between points A-B.
- String Length — Stretch a piece between two objects and see the distance.
- Airplanes– Use this interactive activity to determine the distance a paper aircraft traveled. Children can create and test the ultimate paper plane by designing it.
- Long-distance jump– Use masking tape to mark the floor and determine distances. Students will record the distances they take by jumping long distances. This is a fun way to learn while having fun indoors.
- Graphicing– Take the distance data from the previous activities and create a graph to show the distances between the objects.
Teaching capacity using measurement activities
- Cook! – Yes, cook! Cooking is an everyday task which requires measuring. Measurements are used to measure the ingredients in a recipe. Children can follow a recipe and cook something. Learning will be more enjoyable if the recipe involves a delicious treat.
- Compare Teacups: Each person or group receives two cups (one tall and the other wide) that are roughly equal in size. Talk about how many cups each one holds. Your assignment: Identify which cup holds the most and give your explanation.
- GallonMan– Bring in empty grocery items and measuring cups so that we can discuss ounces (creams, orange juices, milk, etc.). Demonstrate how small items can fit into larger items X times. This principle can be applied to a gallon-sized man that the students can assemble.
Teaching weight using measurement activities
- Interactive – Students will gain a better understanding of weight concepts by being able to hold and judge the different objects. Let them feel the weight of objects 1 lb or 1 oz.
- A Scale- Weight can be tricky. Bring a scale to help kids weigh items around the room. To find out how heavy an eraser is, let the child hold it in their hands and feel its weight. Next, weigh the eraser by placing it on a scale. Do the same with other objects. Children will soon be capable of estimating the weight of objects before they actually weigh them.
- Mystery Bags– Use items from your classroom to fill a variety bags (lunchbags are simple and hide the contents inside). Each bag should be marked with a different label, color or letter to distinguish them. The kids can help you guess what the contents of each bag might be. Next, let them weigh the bags using a scale. Next, have them use a scale to determine the weight. The worksheet can be filled out by students with questions.
Use Measurement Activities to Teach Area
- Legos– Make some simple Lego creations to practice perimeter and area. The area is the number of cubes in the creation, and perimeter is the count of bricks along the edges.
- Teaching Areas. This is a great way to get children to learn about areas. The kids can estimate the number of cubes it will take for each shape and then confirm their estimates after it is fully covered.
- Googleboard – Attach a rubber band to the pegs, and you can determine the perimeter and area.
- Graph Paper – Design a space (bedroom, classroom, zoo, city, etc.) Draw a graph paper outline and ask students to determine the perimeter and area. Or, make it a class project. The area and perimeter can be assigned and students will draw and label their design.
Online Learning Assessment Activities
There are tons of online resources that offer alternative ways for children to learn measurement. These math websites enable kids to master and practice math concepts, such as measurement.
Measurement books
Books are one the most effective resources for teaching any concept. Books are an excellent resource for teaching any concept. How can a text book help me understand math concepts? Reading a book about measurement can help children learn and practice important vocabulary. You can add a book to your classroom library, or to a centers basket to allow children to read it aloud. These videos and measurement books will help you get started teaching measurement with books.
- Inch-by-Inch by Leo Lionni An excellent introduction to measuring, this classic book describes a tiny inchworm that measures different things in the natural world.
- Measuring Penny, Loreen Leedy A little girl is given the task of measuring things at home. To measure her pets, she uses different units. The practical aspects of measurement are easy to see for kids.
- How tall, how short, and how far away are you? David Adler – This interactive book gives students an overview of the history of measurements. Students will be able to use the book's hands-on elements to learn the concepts.
- Saturday Super Sand Castle by Stuart J. Murphy The book is a fun way for kids to participate in sandcastle building competitions. To determine the length, height, and depth of their castles, they use a variety of methods.
- Me by Joan Sweeney: This book teaches students about the different units used in measurement. It features bright illustrations.
- What is the length and width? Brian Cleary's A Measuring guide – These goofy cats show you how to use different units around your measurement objects. These cats also explain how to measure the objects.
- By Bob Barner, While ants prepare for Blowout Bug Jamboree by Bob Barner – They have to plan the size and layout of their rides. They use themselves (ants) to measure the space that each bug requires. This book is great for early learners to learn about measurement.
- On the scale, a weighty tale by Brian Cleary These comical cats have returned to teach the concept about weight. This book uses rhyming to help students understand how different weight units compare using funny examples.
- How Big is a Feet? Rolf Myller, a funny book that teaches young learners the importance and use of standard measurement units. The queen wants a bed for her birthday from the king. A reader can see why a standard is necessary when measuring objects.
- Millions of Measures by David M. Schwartz The book discusses the inventions of measurement, particularly length, weight, as well as volume. It also covers the metric systems.
Teaching Measurement Resources
Teachers Pay Teachers provides many resources to help teachers complete the activities described in this article. Click the image above to view the unit featuring the activity. Learn why Mindful Math is a favorite among teachers in Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade.
