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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Free Telling Time to the Minute - Worksheet Pack
Practice telling time to the minute by writing the digital time and drawing the hands on analog clocks.
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Days of the Week Poster
Display the days of the week with a bright and cheery Days of the Week poster for your classroom.
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Months of the Year Printable Activity Book
Create months of the year booklets to help your students identify, sequence and spell the months in a year.
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Measurement Conversion Game - SCOOT!
Grab a handy set of 24 measurement conversion task cards to use as a whole class scoot activity.
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5th Grade Math Test - Measuring Volume
Assess your students' skills with measuring volume using a printable 5th Grade Volume Unit Test.
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Elapsed Time - Math Maze Worksheets
Find start times, end times, and time elapsed to find your way through our printable Elapsed Time Math maze worksheets.
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Telling Time to 5 Minutes- Color By Number PDF
Tell time to the nearest five minutes and have fun with a Telling Time Math Coloring Page.
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Selecting Units of Capacity – Measurement Game
Estimate the units needed to measure capacity with an Interactive Measurement Game!
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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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Parts of a Clock Anchor Chart
Familiarize students with the analog clock face, hands and other parts of a clock with a printable poster created for the primary classroom.
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Perimeter and Area Dice Game
Use this area and perimeter dice game as a math center activity when teaching area and perimeter to your 3rd and 4th graders.
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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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4th Grade Elapsed Time Word Problems - Task Cards
Solve different types of elapsed time word problems with a set of printable 4th-grade Elapsed Time Task Cards.
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Units of Measurement Word Wall Vocabulary
Print a pack of measurement vocabulary cards to help your students review academic vocabulary.
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Build Your Own Theme Park – Project
A STEM project embedded in a real-world context.
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Determining Elapsed Time-Word Problems Worksheet
Print an elapsed time word problems worksheet to provide students with practice measuring the passage of time.
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Measurement Conversion Worksheets - Units of Time
Use a set of printable measurement conversion worksheets to practice converting units of time.
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Informal Times of Day - Kindergarten Time Worksheet
Help students learn about time with a set of printable Informal Times of Day worksheets.
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Capacity vs. Volume - Poster
A poster explaining the difference between capacity and volume.
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Three Little Pigs Area Worksheet
A worksheet to practice finding area using square units.
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Capacity Math Investigation - Filling the Fish Tank
A mathematics investigation involving capacity, embedded in a real-world context.
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Telling Time to the Hour and Half-Hour - Worksheet
Practice telling time to the half-hour with a fun set of printable Telling Time Worksheets for 1st grade.
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Telling Time to 5 Minutes - Activity Sheets
Cut and paste to tell time to the nearest five minutes with a pack of printable cut-and-paste telling time activity sheets.
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Time to the Hour and Half Hour - Math Mazes
Engage your students with exciting telling time practice activities with a set of printable Time to the Hour and Half Hour Math Mazes.
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Telling Time Test - Nearest 5 Minutes
Assess your student's abilities to tell time to the nearest five minutes with a printable telling time assessment.
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Time in Minutes - Math Maze Worksheets
Tell time to the nearest minute while finding your way through this set of 2nd/3rd Grade Telling Time to the Minute Math mazes.
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Telling Time Task Cards - Hour & Half-Hour
Practice telling time to the hour and half hour with a set of printable Telling Time Task Cards.
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Elapsed Time Printables (Digital Clocks)
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students practice finding elapsed time using digital clocks.
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Converting Time - Worksheet Pack
Download a set of Time Conversion printable worksheets to help your students convert between minutes, hours, days and weeks.
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Following Directions Worksheets - Reading a Clock Review
Practice telling time to the half-hour, quarter-hour, and five-minute mark with a pack of printable Following Directions worksheets.
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Time Matching Game - Hour and Half Hour Ice Cream Cones
Create a math center to practice telling time to the hour and half hour with a printable ice cream themed time game for first grade.
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Converting Time Word Problems Worksheets
Develop problem solving skills set of printable multi-step time conversion worksheets.
- 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