Measuring with Informal Units
How Many Paper Clips Long?
Count the paper clips along each object. Write the length.
How Many Cubes Long?
Count the cubes. Write the length.
How Many Blocks Wide?
Count the blocks. Write the width.
How Long Is It?
Circle the correct measurement.
The book is ___ blocks long
The pencil is ___ cubes long
The desk is ___ hand spans wide
The ruler is ___ paper clips long
More Measurement Questions
Circle the correct measurement.
The spoon is ___ cubes long
The door is ___ hand spans tall
The crayon is ___ clips long
The table is ___ blocks wide
Match Objects to Measurements
Draw a line to match each object to how long it is.
Match More Objects to Lengths
Match each object to a likely measurement.
Which Unit Would You Use?
Circle the best unit to measure each object.
Length of an ant
Width of a book
Length of the playground
Height of a chair
Estimate the Length
Guess how many cubes long each object is.
Your pencil: about ___ cubes
Your hand: about ___ cubes
This worksheet: about ___ cubes wide
Sort Shortest to Longest
Write numbers 1 (shortest) to 4 (longest) to put these in order.
Sort by Height
Sort from shortest to tallest.
Which Is Longer?
Circle the longer object.
Pencil (8 blocks) or Ruler (12 blocks)?
Book (10 clips) or Notepad (7 clips)?
Desk (15 spans) or Table (20 spans)?
Ribbon (9 cubes) or String (9 cubes)?
More Comparison Questions
Circle the correct answer.
Which is taller: a door (25 blocks) or a window (15 blocks)?
Which is shorter: a crayon (5 clips) or a pen (8 clips)?
How much longer is 12 cubes than 8 cubes?
A book is 10 clips wide. A desk is 20 clips wide. How much wider is the desk?
Why Must Units Be the Same Size?
Choose the best answer.
Sam measures a book with big blocks and gets 3. Lily uses small blocks and gets 8. Why are they different?
To compare fairly, the units must be...
How Much Longer?
Find the difference in length.
Match Length Differences
Match each pair to the difference in their lengths.
Compare Two Objects
Measure two objects with the same units. Which is longer? By how much?
Object 1: ___ is ___ cubes long Object 2: ___ is ___ cubes long ___ is longer by ___ cubes
Measure and Record
Use paper clips (or any small objects all the same size) to measure these things. Write how many.
Your hand: ___ paper clips long
A spoon: ___ paper clips long
This worksheet: ___ paper clips wide
Your shoe: ___ paper clips long
Estimate Then Measure
First guess how many cubes long each object is. Then measure to check!
A pencil — Estimate: ___ cubes, Actual: ___ cubes
A book — Estimate: ___ cubes, Actual: ___ cubes
Your arm — Estimate: ___ cubes, Actual: ___ cubes
Best Unit to Measure With
Circle the best informal unit to measure each object.
Length of a pencil
Length of the classroom
Width of a book
Height of a door
Measurement Record — Tally
Record your measurements using tallies.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Pencil (cubes) | ||
Book (cubes) | ||
Spoon (cubes) | ||
Shoe (cubes) |
Measure Around the Room
Use footsteps to measure these distances. Write your results.
From the door to the window: ___ footsteps
From your desk to the board: ___ footsteps
From one side of the room to the other: ___ footsteps
Which was the longest distance? ___
Measurement Word Problems
Solve each problem.
A pencil is 7 cubes long. A pen is 9 cubes long. How much longer is the pen?
Your desk is 15 clips wide. Your book is 10 clips wide. What is the difference?
Two ribbons are 8 cubes and 12 cubes long. How long are they altogether?
Home Activity: Measure 5 Things
Measure things at home using hand spans!
- 1Measure the width of a table using hand spans. How many?
- 2Measure your bed using footsteps. How many steps long is it?
- 3Use a spoon to measure the length of different objects. Record your results.
- 4Find two objects that are the same length when measured with blocks.
Trace Measurement Numbers
Trace the numbers that are often used in measurement.
Count the Cubes Along a Path
Count the cubes along each path. Write the total length.
Count Hand Spans
Count the hand span units used to measure each object.
Measure in Multiples of 5
Fill in the missing measurements. Count by 5s.
Match Objects to Approximate Lengths
Match each object to its approximate length in cubes.
Match Measurements to Objects
Match each measurement to the most likely object.
Total Lengths
Add the lengths together to find the total.
Length Differences
Find the difference between the two lengths.
Compare Object Lengths
Circle the longer object in each pair.
Which is longer?
Which is longer?
Are these the same length?
Which is longer?
Accurate or Not?
Circle the correct answer.
You measure a book with a hand and a book. Which gives an accurate result?
A desk measures 8 hand spans. Your friend gets 10 hand spans. Why are they different?
Which is the most consistent unit?
What does uniform unit mean?
Estimate the Length
Circle the best estimate.
A pencil is about ___ paper clips long.
A door is about ___ footsteps tall.
Your hand is about ___ cubes wide.
A table is about ___ hand spans long.
Sort: Shorter or Longer than 10 Cubes?
Sort these objects by their approximate length.
Sort: Measure or Estimate?
Sort these statements.
Measurement Tally
Record measurements of classroom objects using tally marks.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
1–5 cubes | ||
6–10 cubes | ||
11–15 cubes | ||
16+ cubes |
Lengths of Objects
Read the picture graph of measured lengths.
| Pencil | |
| Book | |
| Eraser | |
| Ruler |
Which object is the longest?
How much longer is the book than the pencil?
Which object is the shortest?
Order Objects by Length
Measure five objects and order them from shortest to longest.
Object 1: ___ = ___ cubes
Object 2: ___ = ___ cubes
Object 3: ___ = ___ cubes
Object 4: ___ = ___ cubes
Object 5: ___ = ___ cubes
Order from shortest to longest: ___
Body Measurements
Measure parts of your body using cubes or blocks. Record the results.
My hand: ___ cubes wide
My foot: ___ cubes long
My arm: ___ cubes long
My longest finger: ___ cubes long
Which is longest? ___
Area Using Tiles
Count the square tiles to find the area of each shape.
A rectangle 3 tiles wide and 4 tiles long: area = ___ tiles
A square 5 tiles wide and 5 tiles long: area = ___ tiles
An L-shape made of 7 tiles: area = ___ tiles
Capacity — Which Holds More?
Estimate, then check by counting cups of water.
A big jug holds about ___ cups of water
A glass holds about ___ cups of water
The jug holds ___ more cups than the glass
What everyday unit could you use to measure capacity? ___
Trace Measurement Numbers
Trace these numbers often used in measurement.
Match Objects to Measurement Units
Match each object to the best informal unit for measuring it.
Which Unit Is Best?
Circle the best informal unit to measure each object.
The length of a pencil is best measured in...
The width of a room is best measured in...
The height of a chair is best measured in...
The length of a book is best measured in...
Sort Objects: Shorter or Longer than a Ruler?
Sort these objects.
Measurement Sequences
Fill in the missing measurement values.
Measurement Bonds
Two parts of an object add up to its total length. Find the missing part.
Counting Informal Units
Each dot = 1 paper clip. Count the paper clips.
How Many Units Long?
Record the length of each object in cubes.
| Item | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
Pencil | ||
Book | ||
Rubber | ||
Crayon |
Object Lengths in Paper Clips
Read the graph and answer the questions.
| Spoon | |
| Fork | |
| Knife | |
| Straw |
Which object is longest?
How much longer is the straw than the spoon?
What is the total length of all four objects?
Measure and Compare
Find two objects and measure them with informal units.
Object A: ___ is ___ paper clips long
Object B: ___ is ___ paper clips long
Object ___ is longer by ___ paper clips
Why is it important to use the same unit when comparing? ___
Estimate and Measure
First estimate, then measure using cubes.
Object: ___ Estimate: ___ cubes Actual: ___ cubes
Object: ___ Estimate: ___ cubes Actual: ___ cubes
Was your estimate close? How did you estimate? ___