Measurement Teaching Resources
Is your maths class ready to dive into length measurement, measuring objects and more measurement practice? Say hello to printable units of measurement worksheets, games and digital activities created by teachers for teachers!
This collection of teaching resources was created by our expert maths teachers to help students meet Australian Curriculum standards. Each printable and digital download has undergone a rigorous review by the teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure they’re student-ready — so you can cut down on lesson planning time!
New to teaching this part of the maths curriculum? Our teacher team knows what it’s like to suddenly teach a brand-new year level, so we’ve put together a quick guide to teaching measurement!
What Are the 4 steps of Teaching and Learning Measurement?
Students have to learn a long list of measurement concepts during their time in primary school, including:
- length
- liquid volume
- elapsed time
- mass (weight)
- area
- volume of three-dimensional figures
The good news for teachers: Most measurement concepts have very real-world applications for students. That means there's a whole world of ways to get students excited about reading a ruler or tape measure or weighing heavy objects on a scale.
But before you can get there, let's start with the basic steps to work through when you're teaching students how to measure ... well ... anything!
- Direct Comparison — One of the earliest steps of learning measurement is learning the attributes that are being measured. For example, students need to learn what length is if they're ever going to measure it. That's where direct comparison (and step 2, indirect comparison), come in. If you put 2 objects side by side, students can directly compare which is longer and which is shorter and start to understand how to measure an object.
- Indirect Comparison — What happens when you can't directly compare two objects? You can add a third as a reference point for indirect comparison, thereby increasing student understanding of the attribute being measured.
- Measuring With Non-Standard Units or Informal Units — Just as students need to understand the attribute of measuring, they also need to understand the concept of the units we use to measure such as metres or litres. Using non-standard units is the first step to teaching the concept of units, offering students the chance to work with different objects, counting how many of these 'units' it takes to make up another. This is the fundamental base of measurement.
- Measuring With Standard Units — In the final step of teaching measurement, students move on to using the formal units of measurement and learn to use measurement instruments.
Why Is Teaching Measurement Important?
There are concrete uses for learning measurement that will surely spring to mind — from using a tape measure to measure a space in a home to weighing ingredients when baking to determining the capacity of a juice glass before pouring in the liquid. These are all means for quantifying our environment.
But the benefits of teaching students about measuring lines with a ruler or figuring out mass measurements from largest to smallest go well beyond the obvious. Learning to measure helps students develop spatial and number skills.
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Heavy vs. Light Roll and Colour Activity
Explore items and decide which is heaviest and lightest in this fun and engaging roll and colour activity.
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Estimating Length Task Cards
Use printable Estimating Length Task Cards to practise making estimates of length in metres, centimetres, and millimetres.
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Measuring, Comparing and Ordering Height Worksheet
Measure length using informal units with an engaging hands-on collaborative measurement activity.
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Converting Units of Length – Error Analysis Worksheet
Analyse length conversions to identify and correct mistakes with this error analysis worksheet.
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Months of the Year Bingo
Recognise and order the months in a year with a printable Bingo Game!
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Which Is Heavier? – Interactive Game
Have your students practise identifying heavier or lighter objects with an engaging “Which is Heavier" interactive game.
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Days of the Week Word Scramble
Unscramble the names of the days in a week with a printable word scramble worksheet!
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A.M. and P.M. Matching Game
Identify what happens in the A.M. and P.M. times with a fun matching game.
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Time Elapsed Anchor Chart - Printable
Show students how to calculate elapsed time on an open number line with a printable elapsed time anchor chart.
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Year 3 Telling Time Game
Practise representing time to the minute on analog clocks, digital clocks, and word form with this Year 3 telling time board game.
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Interactive Area Puzzle (Triangles)
Have your students find the area of 16 triangles on the board and match the corresponding pieces to reveal a mystery picture.
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Find the Missing Side Interactive Puzzle
Explore perimeter with missing sides with your students using this interactive digital puzzle.
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Area of a Parallelogram – War Game
Practise finding and comparing the area of a parallelogram with a game of WAR!
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Area of a Triangle – Match-Up Activity
Calculate the area of triangle figures and match them with their corresponding areas with this match-up activity.
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Mixed Perimeter Word Problems Worksheet
Use this perimeter word problems worksheet to give your students practice calculating the perimeter of shapes.
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Perimeter Word Problems Worksheet
Get students solving real-life perimeter word problems with a printable worksheet for 3rd and 4th grade.
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Measuring Length with Clovers Worksheet
Measure familiar objects using our lucky clover in this St Patrick’s Day maths activity!
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Number Talks - Measurement Conversion Task Cards
Build number sense skills with this set of 20 task cards.
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Wonderings – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article from the Foundation magazine (Bonus Issue).
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Time Banner
A 3-page banner to use on your 'Time' display board.
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My Recipe Rules - Measurement Worksheet
A worksheet using money and measurement concepts.
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Converting Units of Measurement Poster (Imperial)
Use these posters to assist your students in learning the different units of measurement in the imperial system.
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Time Zone Locations Around the World Display
A classroom display showing the different time zones around the world and locations which belong within each time zone.
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Measurement Classroom Decoration Pack
A pack of page borders and cut-out decorations for your classroom.
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Interactive Clock for Teaching Time (Analogue and Digital)
Teach time with an interactive digital clock designed to add a hands-on element to this important primary school lesson!
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Measuring Area of Shapes
A 60 minute lesson in which students will measure the area of plane shapes using informal square units.
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Measuring Mass with Informal Units Unit Plan
This Mathematics unit addresses the concept of measuring, comparing and ordering mass using informal units.
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Introduction to Volume
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the concept of volume by comparing and ordering objects.
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Measuring Area
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the concept of area and how it can be measured using informal square units.
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Assessment - Measuring Area with Informal Units
A 30 minute assessment in which students will demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of area.
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Introduction to Area
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Mass Investigation - How Heavy Are the Objects in Your Classroom?
A 60 minute lesson in which students will apply knowledge and understanding of mass to a real-world context.
- Measurement Worksheets
- Measurement Games
- Measurement Posters
- Measurement Templates
- Measurement Projects
- Measurement Teaching Presentations
- Measurement for Preschool/Kindergarten
- Measurement for Foundation Year
- Measurement for Year 1
- Measurement for Year 2
- Measurement for Year 3
- Measurement for Year 4
- Measurement for Year 5
- Measurement for Year 6
- Measurement for Year 7