Measuring Maniacs!

We have been having fun in our class using our measurement skills.  By the end of Grade 2/3, students should be able to estimate and measure length, height, and distance, using standard units (i.e., centimetres, metres) and non-standard units (ie. link its, blocks, buttons).  Students also should be able to record and represent measurements of length, height and distance in a variety of ways.

First, we reviewed the important steps to measuring:

1.  Place the first unit of measurement at the edge of the object.
2.  Place the next unit of measurement beside the first unit without any space between and without overlapping.
3.  Continue laying units of measurement until you reach the end of the object being measured.
4.  Count how many units long the object being measured is.

Next, we used a variety of materials to measure.
Students soon discovered that standard tools (rulers with centimeters marked) were faster and easier to use and that that everyone got the same measurement.

We found benchmarks for the cm (the width of our baby finger) and 10 cm (the width of the palm of our hand) and used these to help us estimate the measurment of objects.

We also discussed the importance of choosing the right measuring tool for a measuring job. We learned "small objects can be measured with small tools, but you should choose bigger tools if you are measuring something big or it just ends up taking too long to measure it and it is too many to count."

Our next step is to compare and order objects based on their measurment and think about how to compare the size of objects when they have been measured with different tools.  
Example:  Which is bigger 200 cm or 3 m?  We will come back to this in a few weeks!  
Marvelous measuring Grade 2/3.