Discovery Education
By the Foot: The History of Measurement
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...
Curated OER
A Handy Measure
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...
Curated OER
Measurement and Algebraic Thinking
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...
Curated OER
Hand Span and Height
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....
Curated OER
Measurement Tools
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 activity includes pictures. Because the answer is...
Curated OER
Non-Standard Measurement
Young scholars, 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.
Curated OER
Describe Measurements Step-by-Step Lesson
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,...
Curated OER
Measurements: Inches
Children solve problems involving measurement using information taken from various items measured (wooden blocks and boxes). This is a particularly good activity to use when introducing how to use a ruler and how to add inches together...
Mathed Up!
Metric and Imperial Measures
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,...
Curated OER
Measurement: Finding Areas of Rectangles
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 lesson!
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Customary Units of Length - Practice 6.2
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...
Curated OER
Choose the Units: Quiz
Quiz the class on which unit of measure would be most appropriate when determining the weight, volume, height, or distance of eight different objects. This quiz reviews liters, kilometers, milligrams, and centimeters.
Curated OER
Tall Towers
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.
University of Wisconsin
Measuring Slope for Rain Gardens
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...
Curated OER
How Tall is that Tree?
Students 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. Students can get the tree height when...
Curated OER
Acceleration Lab
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...
Curated OER
Orienteering - Lesson 4 - Distance and Height
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...
Curated OER
Measure for Measure: Lengths and Heights
Students explore measuring tools by calculating heights and lengths of random objects. For this distance measurement lesson, students utilize the Internet service MapQuest to measure the distance between their current towns and many...
Curated OER
A Handy Measure
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...
Curated OER
Indirect Measurement, Surveying Trigonometry
Students measure distances using indirect measurements. In this geometry lesson, students apply proportion and ratios to measure heights of different objects. They differentiate between direct and indirect measurements.
Curated OER
Measurement of Objects Using Similar Triangles in The Plane
Learners use similar triangles and a sight tool to find the height and distance between large objects. In this similar triangles lesson plan, students use a constructed sight tool to measure the distance and height of an object using an...
Curated OER
Whatcha Gunna Do When the Hulkster's Measuring Too??
Pupils measure using tools they have made. In this algebra lesson plan, students measure the height and distance using non-traditional measuring methods. They apply their findings to algebra and trigonometry properties of measurements.
Curated OER
Comparing Units of Measurement
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...
Curated OER
Measurement
Students study the metric system and examine other ways to measure. In this measurement lesson plan students complete activities that help them to better understand the measuring system.