Measurement Teaching Resources
Is your math class ready to dive into length measurement, measuring objects, and more measurement practice? Say hello to printable measurement worksheets, games, and digital activities created by teachers for elementary teachers!
This collection of teaching resources was created by our expert math teachers to help students meet Common Core and state-level 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 math curriculum? Our teacher team knows what it’s like to suddenly teach a brand-new grade level, so we’ve put together a quick guide to teaching measurement!
What Are the 4 steps of Teaching and Learning Measurement?
Elementary students have to learn a long list of measurement concepts during their stint in elementary 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 inches or pounds. 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 — Finally, 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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Area of a Parallelogram – Match-Up Activity
Calculate the area of parallelograms and match them with their corresponding areas with this match-up activity.
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Volume of Rectangular Prisms – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Improve student understanding of how to calculate the volume of a rectangular prism with this interactive activity.
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Converting Units of Length – Board Game
Engage your students with a lively board game while practicing how to convert customary and metric units of length.
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Converting Units of Length – Match-Up Activity
Convert customary and metric units of length by completing a match-up activity.
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Gallon Man Template
Build a Gallon Man to help your students visualize the units of capacity and use when converting between units.
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Converting Units of Length – Error Analysis Worksheet
Analyze length conversions to identify and correct mistakes with this error analysis worksheet.
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Up, Up, & Away! Volume of Rectangular Prisms – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Practice calculating the volume of rectangular prisms with this Google Slides interactive activity.
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Prism Party! –Volume of Composite Rectangular Prisms – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Practice how to find the volume of composite figures with this interactive activity.
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Volume of Composite Rectangular Prisms Match-Up!
Match equations with composite figures and determine the volume with this match-up activity.
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Converting Units of Mass – Worksheet
Practice converting metric units of mass, including those with decimal representations, with this worksheet.
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Volume of Composite Rectangular Prisms – Worksheet
Calculate the volume of composite figures and solve real-world problems with this worksheet.
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Volume Match-Up!
Find rectangular prisms with the same volume while completing this match-up activity.
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Volume Word Problems – Task Cards
Use this set of 24 word problem task cards when calculating the volume of rectangular prisms.
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Finding Volume with Unit Cubes – Task Cards
Count unit cubes to determine the volume of a rectangular prism with this set of 24 task cards.
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Volume of Rectangular Prisms – Digital and Printable Worksheet
Practice finding the volume of rectangular prisms with a “This or That” worksheet.
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Volume with Unit Cubes – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to reinforce how to find the volume of a rectangular prism by counting the number of unit cubes.
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Understanding Volume - Vocabulary Cards
Promote math vocabulary development with this set of 15 vocabulary cards focusing on volume.
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Measuring and Converting Time – Instructional Slide Deck
Learn how to measure and convert time with this 14-slide instructional slide deck.
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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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Perimeter with Missing Sides – Word Problems Worksheet
Use this perimeter with missing sides worksheet when exploring the concept of perimeter in your math lessons.
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Interactive Area Puzzle (Triangles)
Set this task for students to find the area of 16 triangles on the board and match the corresponding pieces to reveal a mystery picture.
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Elapsed Time Worksheet
Determine how much time has passed with this collection of elapsed time word problems.
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Telling Time to the Minute – Memory Game
Practice telling time to the minute with this set of 30 match-up cards.
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Time to the Minute – Kaboom Game
Practice reading analog clocks and telling time to the nearest minute with this engaging card game.
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Four in a Row Game - Telling Time to the Hour and Half Hour
Students match analog and digital clock times on their game board to tell the time in 30 minute and hour increments.
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Telling Time Cards
Identify the time on the analog clock and use a clothespin to mark the correct digital time.
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Find the Missing Side Worksheet
Use this missing side perimeter worksheet to help your students find the missing sides on a collection of rectangles and squares.
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Draw the Perimeter Worksheet
Get students to draw a figure with a given perimeter with this perimeter of rectangles worksheet.
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Measuring Length with Clover Worksheet
Measure familiar objects using our lucky clover in this St Patrick’s Day math activity!
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Spin and Sort – Heavier, Lighter, Same
Practice comparing weight with this sorting activity.
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Spin and Sort – Longer, Shorter, Same
Practice comparing lengths with this sorting activity.
- Measurement Worksheets
- Measurement Games
- Measurement Posters
- Measurement Templates
- Measurement Projects
- Measurement for Pre-K
- Measurement for Kindergarten
- Measurement for 1st Grade
- Measurement for 2nd Grade
- Measurement for 3rd Grade
- Measurement for 4th Grade
- Measurement for 5th Grade
- Measurement for 6th Grade