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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Telling the Time Poster
Help your students learn to tell the time to the hour, half-hour, quarter, and minute with a printable Telling the Time anchor chart PDF.
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Finding Volume – Teaching Slides for 5th Grade
Teach your students how to find the volume of a rectangular prism by counting unit cubes and using a formula with this set of teaching slides designed for 5th-grade students.
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Area of a Triangle – Worksheet
Practice applying math formulas with this area of a triangle worksheet.
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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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Appropriate Units of Measurement – Worksheet
A worksheet that allows students to choose appropriate units of measurement.
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Measuring My Body – Length Worksheet
Explore linear measurement with an engaging collaborative activity where students measure different body parts and compare them
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12-Hour Clock Template
A template for an interactive clock that displays hours, minutes, and wording.
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Time to 5 Minutes - Digital Learning Activity
Review how to tell time to the nearest five minutes with an independent Telling Time Digital Learning Activity.
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Tick Tock Time Conversion Task Cards
Review how to convert units of time with a pack of printable time conversion task cards.
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Telling Time - 1st Grade Math Coloring Sheet
Practice telling time to the hour and half hour with a fun Telling Time Color By Code worksheet!
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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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Days of the Week Activity Mat
Review the order and spelling of the days in a week with a printable Days of the Week Activity Mat!
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Differentiated Elapsed Time Worksheets for Beginners
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students learn to calculate elapsed time in hours, half hours, and minutes.
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Days of the Week Spelling Worksheets
Use these Days of the Week Spelling worksheets to help your students practice reading, writing, and spelling the Days of the week.
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Telling Time to the Hour and Half Hour Teaching Slides
Teach your first graders how to tell time to the hour and half hour with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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What Can You Do? 1st Grade Time Printables
Help your students understand time increments with a pair of cut-and-paste math worksheets for first grade.
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Time by the Minute - 3rd Grade Math Interactive
Practice telling time by the minute with an interactive Time-telling digital learning activity.
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Telling Time - Worksheets
Practice telling time on a clock with a set of 5 printable telling time worksheets.
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Months of the Year - Ordering Worksheet
Practice ordering months of the year with a pack of printable months of the year worksheets for kindergarten.
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Perimeter Escape Room – The Mysterious Missing Cupcakes
Have your supersleuth students solve this perimeter escape room to find out who stole the missing cupcakes!
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Perimeter Matching Game
Have students explore the perimeter of composite figures with this matching game perfect for collaborative learning.
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Perimeter Practice Problems With Visuals – Worksheet
Download these perimeter practice problems to use when exploring measurement concepts in your math lessons.
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Build Your Own Theme Park – Project
A STEM project embedded in a real-world context.
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Volume of Rectangular Prisms Mini-Book
Learn and practice how to find the volume of a rectangular prism with this mini-book.
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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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Measurement Conversions - Length – Worksheet
Use ratio reasoning to practice converting length measurements with this worksheet.
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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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Converting Units of Length – Worksheet
Demonstrate an understanding of decimal representations while converting metric units of length with this worksheet.
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Area Worksheets
Practice finding the area of different shapes with this set of 4 worksheets.
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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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Counting Coins - Interactive Activities
Practice creating amounts up to a $1.00 with a variety of coins.
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How Much Does It Measure? Interactive PowerPoint
An interactive quiz to reinforce a range of measurement concepts.
- 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