Measurement

Subject: Math
Grade: 2nd
Rationale: I am teaching this lesson so that students will learn to use a 12-inch ruler to
measure items and learn how to approximate measurements of objects that they may need
to round up or down to the nearest inch. I also want my students to understand why it is
important to measure. (to get an accurate representation of how long something is)
Source: This lesson idea came from Miss Rays 2D Shape Hunt in her geometry unit. The
students may measure some of the same objects. Ive changed the idea to fit the CCSS for
Measurement in second grade. This lesson is one of the first lessons in the Measurement
unit in Miss Rays class.
CCSS:
2.MD.A.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as
rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
2.MD.A.3 Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters
Materials: 21 rulers, worksheets, pencils, small classroom objects, dollar bill, folder, unifix
cubes, white board, dry erase markers

Objective: SWBAT use a ruler to measure everyday objects in the classroom and complete a
worksheet about the objects they measure.
Lesson Progression:
Intro: Call students to rug
Boys and girls, I know you all just started learning about measurement recently. This is so
important because we can measure so much in our lives. Before we start, who can tell us
something that is important to measure or we need to be able to think about the size of
something? I will take 3 responses. Make sure to raise our hands to speak. Possible
answers: shoe size, how our stuffed animals from Jammie Day fit in our backpacks, age,
time, height. Excellent responses! Some of these things can be measured using a ruler, but
some things are measured in other ways. Today, we will be measuring small objects using a
12 inch ruler.
These ties into what students already know about measuring in their lives, because they
are recalling times when they or their parents needed to measure something. The intro
activity will help get the students thinking about what and why they measure. Although, we
cannot measure some of their examples using rulers, I am trying to get them to think about
things we could measure. This also serves as a Do Now or warm-up activity.

1. When we measure, we always need to start at the zero mark on the rulers. Why do
we think this is important? This is important because it is how we get an accurate
measurement. If we start at any other number we will not know how long the object
really is from the start.
2. A few things to measure as a class.
Dollar bill
Unifix cubes
Folder
We might need to round some of these objects to the nearest inch. I will make a
chart on the board similar to what their worksheet looks like.
3. Does anyone think they can guess how long this dollar bill is? I will measure the
dollar bill. I start at the zero mark until I get to the end of the object. It is 6 inches.
This is called the length of the dollar bill.
4. Now I want to measure a few Unifix Cubes. So Im going to take a couple blocks and
connect them. Do we think this is going to be longer or shorter than the dollar bill?
Lets measure it to find out.
5. Now can I borrow someones everyday folder? We are going to measure its length.
Thank you. I will measure the folder.
6. What do we do if we are measuring something that is between two numbers, like
our folder? We need to round to whichever number is closest. So what would our
everyday folders be rounded to? 8 or 9 inches? Right, because the folder is under
the halfway mark so we can round to the smaller number.
7. So how will we round something that is closer to the bigger number? Yes, we round
up to the bigger number.
8. I will place the worksheets and rulers in the middle of the rug. I will read the
directions and call students by table group to pick up a worksheet and get a pencil
from their desks. They may begin measuring at this point. Are there any questions?
9. I will give everyone 10 minutes to record their measurements. I will remind
students to look for smaller objects to measure using the 12 inch rulers. They will be
filling in the worksheet.
10. Then, I will ask students quietly to gather at the rug in a circle. I will ring the bell to
get their attention.
11. Then, I will call on students to share what they have found and measured. I will ask:
how can we measure something a lot larger than 12 inches? What tools do you think
we can use?

Management Strategies:
If there is talking over each other when I am speaking, I will say I will wait for
quiet or ring the bell once.

I will remind the students to raise their hands throughout the lesson.

When getting the students to transition from the activity to the rug, I will count to
10 after I ring the bell once to get their attention.

Closure: I will finish the lesson with the question: how can you measure larger objects
greater than 12 inches. They can measure these by using a measuring tape, stacking
multiple rulers, etc. Once the lesson is complete, I will direct the students to place their
worksheets in the Classwork bin.
Anticipation for the next lesson: Students will think about and answer a question about
ways they can measure larger objects.
Assessment: If students objects are measured accurately using the rulers and their
responses to the questions will give me an idea of how they grasp how to measure and its
importance.
Differentiation:
I will discuss a variety of examples that relate to students lives, so they are able to
put in perspective the importance of measuring in their daily activities. For example,
a favorite book, glasses case; objects that a student may be able to make some
connection to. This will also keep the students engaged in the lesson.
Also, making a chart similar to the one that is on their worksheet will be helpful for
visual learners and mostly everyone else in explicitly going through some examples
of objects to measure in the same way the worksheet is set up.