Measuring Height and Distance Teacher Resources

Comparatively speaking, does a bug travel farther than a human in 10 seconds? Get a bug and measure how far it travels in 10 seconds. Have a human team member run for 10 seconds and calculate the distance ran. Answer the question,"Who...

How do we measure something? As learners are beginning to grasp the idea of a consistent unit of measurement, give them this activity as a warm-up. They see an apple with a column of blocks beside it. Ask them how high the apple is,...

How many hands tall are you? Challenge kids to measure themselves the way the 19th century Oklahoma horse traders measured their prize horses (can they guess how many hands tall a horse had to be?). There's some background information...

When is a foot not a foot? When you use the length of your own foot to measure distances, of course. To underscore the importance of standardized units of measurement, middle schoolers engage in a series of activities that ask them to...

Is there a relationship between hand span width and height? Statisticians survey each other by taking measurements of both. A table that can hold data for 24 individuals is printed onto the worksheet, along with questions for analysis....

Your hand can be a handy tool for measurement. Young mathematicians learn how to estimate the height of objects by applying similarity. They find the horizontal distance from the object where spreading their outstretched fingers results...

When the tape measure will not reach, use similarity. An installment of a large playlist on geometry introduces the method of indirect measurement. Using a story of finding the distance to the sun, the video shows how to use similar...

Learners use their feet to measure distance between themselves and a tree trunk.  In this distance lesson, students use the number of steps, and string to measure distances and height of the tree.  Learners can get the tree height when...

Linear measurement is the focus of this math lesson. Youngsters work in groups to build towers with blocks. They build towers represented on index cards and determine how many blocks taller one tower is.

Which of these is the best tool for the job? Learners examine a measurement scenario and determine which of five tools would be the right choice. There is only one problem, and the learning exercise includes pictures. Because the answer...

Students, using a list made up of things from around the room; estimate the distance of one of the items on the list with one unit, record their prediction, and then actually measure items with non-standard measuring devise.

Children solve problems involving measurement using information taken from various items measured (wooden blocks and boxes). This is a particularly good lesson to use when introducing how to use a ruler and how to add inches together in...

Pretend that you've been dropped onto a mountain, in the middle of nowhere,  and all you have to find your way is a topographical map and a compass. Could you find your way to the nearest town? Orienteering teaches the skills of map...

After watching a brief video on making metric conversions to standard units, pupils complete tables to describe certain items with the appropriate unit of measurement. Then, they convert liters to millimeters, millimeters to centimeters,...

Gardening geometers construct the formula for the area of a rectangle by viewing a video revolving around two young people, their lawn mowing business, and their need to charge by the square meter. A relevant real-life application...

Fifth graders complete nine problems in which they work with converting customary units of length such as feet to yards, and yards to miles. They compare measurements using inequality signs in six examples, and answer two test prep...

Learners explore measuring tools by calculating heights and lengths of random objects. In this distance measurement lesson plan, students utilize the Internet service MapQuest to measure the distance between their current towns and many...

The slope of the land is an important feature when considering the erosion that will occur. In this resource, which is part of a rain garden unit, learners calculate the slope of the proposed garden site. Even if you are not planning a...

Young Einsteins experiment with the acceleration of Hot Wheels™ toy cars down inclined planes at various angles. This classic physics lab activity is thoroughly explained in both a teacher’s guide and a student lab sheet. Science...

Hold your horses! Young learners discover the history behind measuring the height of horses "by hands." They also study the history of Oklahoma, and how horses played such an important role in settling the state. An excellent worksheet...

How do you find the lengths of items that cannot be directly measured? The 13th installment in a series of 16 has pupils use the similarity content learned in an earlier resource to solve real-world problems. Class members determine...

In this measuring lengths worksheet, students examine the appropriate unit of measure to use for a variety of items, and look at which errors are commonly made. They consider the use of millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers...

Fourth graders investigate the units of measurement used by various Native American tribes before they had contact with the Europeans. They write research questions, conduct research using a variety of resources, in small groups write a...