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Measurement Activities

Third and Fourth Grade

Updated 2005-2006

Supplemental Instructional Unit

Terry McKelvey

Kim Blair

12/10/01

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Supplemental Measurement Unit

1. READ through the entire unit before hand and prepare all materials. Also note the amount of time you

2. Borrow

Balances

Each 1

st

grade has 6 balances

Each 3

rd

grade has 4 balances

Liter Measuring Pitchers (each 5

th

grade has 4)

Measuring tapes (each 5

th

has 10)

Meter/Yard sticks (each 5

th

has 12)

Kilogram and 500 gram weight set (each 5

th

has one set)

4. Gather Materials

Metric Stations:

Weight/Mass Station

5 – 10 Objects to weigh (small objects)

Snap cubes, plastic tiles, and pencils for balance scale

3 Balance scales (see first grade and third grade)

Student record sheet (1/student)

Length Station

2 – 4 Measuring tapes

2 – 4 rulers or meter sticks

Student record sheet (1/student)

Length/Perimeter Station

5 – 6 metric rulers

Student polygon sheet (1/person in the group – these stay at the station)

Student record sheet (1/student)

Capacity Station

5 – 8 plastic containers labeled A, B, C, etc. (for estimating less than 1 liter, 1 liter,

and greater than 1 liter)

Water

Liter measuring pitchers (see 5

th

grade materials)

Student record sheet (1/student)

Bucket or tray to catch spills or do over the sink

You might want to laminate the station directions and the polygon sheets.

WASL Measurement Item Specifications at the end of the unit.

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Scavenger Hunt

Rulers, meter sticks and weights will need to be available.

Student record sheets (1/student)

Benchmarks:

1) 1 pencil =6 grams

2) 1 staple remover =32 grams

3) 1 box of small paper clips =65 grams

4) 1 box of 24 crayons =130 grams

5) 4 boxes of staples =600 grams

6) A dictionary =1 kilogram

Metric Olympic Stations

Student record sheets (1/team of 2 students)

Cotton Ball Shot Put:

5 Cotton balls

Meter sticks

Straw Javelin Throw:

5 small plastic straws or stirrers

Meter/yard sticks

Tongue Depressor Weight Lifting:

5 – 6 tongue depressors

plastic tiles

calculator

Paper Clip Karate Blow:

3 -5 paper clips

Measuring tape or meter sticks

100

Milliliter

Measurement Dash:

5 Plastic containers or jars

Bucket or tray to catch spills or do over the sink

Liter measuring cup marked in 100 milliliter increments

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Helpful Hints

Helpful Hints

•

When setting up the stations, you may want to laminate the

student directions and post them at the station.

•

Each student or pair of students should keep track of their

work on the specific Student Record Sheets created for

each station.

•

Explain the importance of estimation.

•

We know that the capacity station can be “messy” but we

encourage you to try it so that the students understand

capacity. How about setting it up outside?

•

Debrief at the end of the session asking students for

benchmarks for:

1 meter

10 centimeters

500 grams (hardback book, coffee cup)

1 kilogram (dictionary)

1 liter

1 foot

1 inch

1 pound

1 ounce

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Metric Stations

Teacher Directions

Activity

Materials

Directions

*Remind students to

always record the unit

measurement

5-10 objects to weigh

Equivalent weights:

1 snap

cube = 3 grams 1 plastic

tile = 1.5 grams

pencil = 1 ounce

Student record sheet

Calculators

•

Estimate the

metric/standard weight •

Weigh each object using a

balance scale • Snap cubes

& tiles can be used to weigh

the objects on the balance

scale

*Remind students to

always record the unit

measurement

Measuring Tapes

Rulers and meter/yard

sticks

Student record sheet

• Measure body parts with

measuring tapes (height,

width of arm span, leg

length, wrist to longest

finger, circumference of

head)

Length/Perimeter Station

always record the unit

measurement

Metric rulers

Student polygon sheet

Calculators

Estimate the perimeter in

centimeters of the

polygons shown on the

student polygon sheet

Student record sheet

Students should record to

the closest centimeter or .5

centimeter

•

Measure the perimeter in

centimeters of the

polygons shown on the

student polygon sheet

Capacity Station

5 – 8 plastic containers

labeled A,B,C, etc.

• Estimate which container

will hold close to 1 liter and

close to a cup,

which will hold less, which

water

will hold more

Students will record – less,

more and same

Liter/cup container for

measuring

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Weight/Mass Station

Student Instructions

Estimate the weight of the objects in grams and ounces and

write the estimates on the student record sheet.

Weigh each object using the balance scale.

Use snap cubes or plastic tiles to balance the scales.

Write down the exact weight of the objects on the student

sheet. Remember to include the units.

ounce = oz.

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Weight/Mass Station

Student Record Sheet

Name _______________________________________

Date ______________________

Object

Estimation

grams

ounces

grams

ounces

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Length Station

•

Measure your height, width of your arm span, leg length,

wrist to longest finger, and the circumference of your head.

•

Record your measurements on the student sheet.

centimeter – cm

inch – in.

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Length Station

Student Record Sheet

Name ____________________________________

Date _______________________

Body Part

centimeters

Circumference of head

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Length/Perimeter Station

•

Estimate the perimeter in centimeters of the polygons on the

student polygon sheet. Write the estimates on the student

sheet.

•

Measure the perimeter in centimeters of the polygons shown

on the student polygon sheet. Write the measurements on

the student sheet.

centimeter - cm

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Polygon Sheet

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Student Record Sheet

Name _______________________________________

Date ______________________

Polygon

Estimate

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Capacity Station

•

Estimate which container will hold close to 1 liter (approx. 1

quart) or a cup, which will hold less, and which will hold more.

•

Use water to see if your container will hold close to 1 liter

(approx. 1 quart) or a cup, will hold less, and which will hold

more.

•

Record your answers on the student sheet.

liter - L

cup - c.

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Capacity Station

Student Record Sheet

Name ____________________________________

Date ______________________________

Container

Estimate

Actual Measurement

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Scavenger Hunt

Activity

Materials

Directions

Length

Metric/Standard

rulers

Find objects in the

room that measure in

Student record sheet

length:

10 centimeters

Weight

0.5 kilograms or

500g is

approximately 1

pound and 1

kilogram is

approximately 2

pounds

500 gram weight

1 kilogram weight

(in fifth grade kit)

Students should act as

the balance to get as

close as they can.

Student record sheet

Find objects in the

room that weigh:

Between 1 and 500

grams 500-1000

grams more than 1

kilogram (use pounds

interchangeably)

Perimeter

Metric rulers

Find objects in the

room that have a

Student record sheet

perimeter between

100 centimeters and

400 centimeters

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Scavenger Hunt

Name _______________________________________

Date ____________________

Object

Object

500 – 1000 grams

or between 1 and 2 pounds

or more than 2 pounds

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Scavenger Hunt cont.

Objects that have a perimeter between 100 centimeters and

400 centimeters.

Object

Actual Measurement

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Measurement Olympics

Teacher Directions

Cotton Ball Shot Put (metric length)

Materials

•

Cotton balls or other very light materials

•

Measuring tapes or meter sticks

Activity

•

Demonstrate how the shot put is thrown. (Fake it if you don’t

know.) Ask students to estimate as a group how far they

think they can throw it.

•

Students work in teams of two. Two teams compete.

One person on each team shot puts the cotton ball.

The partners confer to decide how far the cotton is thrown

and write down their estimate.

The second person on the team measures the actual distance

in

centimeters

.

The difference between the estimate and the actual distance

is the team’s score.

Lowest total score wins.

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Straw Javelin Throw (standard length)

Materials

•

Small plastic straws or stirrers

•

Measuring tapes or meter/yard sticks

Activity

•

Demonstrate how the javelin is thrown. Ask students to

estimate as a group how far they think they can throw it.

•

Students work in teams of two. Two teams compete.

One person on each team throws the plastic javelin.

The partners estimate how far the straw is thrown and

write down their estimate.

The second person on the team measures the actual distance in

inches

.

The difference between the estimate and the actual distance

is the team’s score.

Lowest total score wins.

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Materials

•

Small tongue depressors or wooden popsicle sticks

•

Plastic Tiles, 1 tile = 1.5

grams

•

Calculators

Activity

•

Students “weight lift” as many tiles as they can balance on a

popsicle stick or tongue depressor. If the tiles fall off, it

doesn’t count.

•

The student will then calculate

#tiles x 1.5 g

•

Team with the most weight wins.

Materials

•

Plastic containers or jars

•

Liter measure marked in 100 milliliter increments

Activity

•

Student tries to pour exactly 100 milliliters of water, sand,

rice, into the plastic container.

Then the student measures the actual amount. Person or team

with the smallest difference wins.

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Materials

•

Paper Clip

•

Meter/yard sticks

Activity

•

Students see how far they can blow a paper clip in one

breath.

•

Students work in teams of two. Two teams compete.

One person on each team blows the paper clip starting at one

edge of the desk.

The partners decide how far the paper clip travels and write

down their estimate.

The second person on the team measures the actual distance in

inches

.

The difference between the estimate and the actual distance is

the team’s score.

Lowest total score wins.

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Cotton Ball Shot Putt (centimeters)

Team_______________________________________

Estimate

Distance (cm)

Difference

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Estimate

Actual Distance

(in.)

Difference

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

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Number of

Weight (g)

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Distance

Difference

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

100 Milliliter Measurement Dash

Name

100

Milliliters

Actual

Measurement

Difference

100

100

100

100

100

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For Teachers

Based on Tens:

Kilo 1000 x

Hecta 100 x

Deca 10 x

Deci .1 (1/10 of)

Centi .01 (1/100 of)

Milli .001 (1/1000 of)

For example – A centimeter is 1/100 of a meter. There are 100 centimeters in a

meter.

Basic Metric Units: Things to remember:

1 liter is a little more than a quart.

1 meter is a little more than a yard.

1 kilogram is a little more than 2 pounds.

100° C = boiling.

37° C = body temperature.

30° C = warm day.

20° C = room temperature.

0° C = freezing.

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Measurement - Items assessing understanding of measurement attributes and dimensions may use

the following units:

Attribute

US Units

Metric (SI) Units

Length

inch (in.), foot (ft.), yard (yd.), mile (mi.)

centimeter (cm), meter (m)

Time

second (s), minute (min.), hour (hr.), day,

week (wk), month (mo), year (yr)

Money

cent/penny (¢), nickel, dime, quarter,

dollar ($)

Weight/mass

ounce (oz.), pound (lb.), ton

gram (g), kilogram (kg)

Capacity (liquid

volume)

cup (c), pint (pt.), quart (qt), gallon (gal)

milliliter (mL), liter (L)

Temperature

degree (°F)

degree (°C)

Measurement – items assessing understanding of measurement units and systems may use the

following units:

Attribute

US Units

Metric (SI) Units

Length

inch (in.), foot (ft.), yard (yd.), mile (mi.)

centimeter (cm), meter (m)

Money

cent/penny (¢), nickel, dime, quarter,

dollar ($)

Weight/mass

ounce (oz.), pound (lb.), ton

gram (g), kilogram (kg)

Capacity (liquid

volume)

cup (c), pint (pt.), quart (qt), gallon (gal)

milliliter (mL), liter (L)

Measurement - Students are expected to know the following:

Attribute

US Conversions

Length

1 foot = 12 inches, 1 yard = 3 feet

Money

penny = 1¢, nickel = 5¢, dime = 10¢, quarter = 25¢, $1 = 100¢

Capacity (liquid

volume)

1 pint = 2 cups, 1 quart = 2 pints, 1 gallon = 4 quarts

Measurement - Items assessing knowledge of measurement procedures may use the following units:

Attribute

US Units

Metric (SI) Units

Length

inch (in.), foot (ft.), yard (yd.), mile (mi.)

centimeter (cm), meter (m)

Time

second (s), minute (min.), hour (hr.), day,

week (wk), month (mo), year (yr)

Money

cent/penny (¢), nickel, dime, quarter,

dollar ($)

Weight/mass

ounce (oz.), pound (lb.), ton

gram (g), kilogram (kg)

Capacity (liquid

volume)

cup (c), pint (pt.), quart (qt), gallon (gal)

milliliter (mL), liter (L)

Temperature

degree (°F)

Measurement - Items assessing for estimated measurements may use the following units:

Attribute

US Units

Metric (SI) Units

Length

inch (in.), foot (ft.), yard (yd.), mile (mi.)

centimeter (cm), meter (m)

Time

second (s), minute (min.), hour (hr.), day,

week (wk), month (mo), year (yr)

Money

cent/penny (¢), nickel, dime, quarter,

dollar ($)

Weight/mass

ounce (oz.), pound (lb.), ton

gram (g), kilogram (kg)

Capacity (liquid

volume)

cup (c), pint (pt.), quart (qt), gallon (gal)

milliliter (mL), liter (L)

Temperature

degree (°F)