22 Measurement Activities for Kids at Home or in the Classroom

Measurement activities build kids’ understanding by using rulers and non-standard units to explore weight, length, capacity, and area hands-only. Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd graders will enjoy measuring and building math skills at school and at home.

Measurement Activities for Kids

Measurement is an important math skill that everyone needs to know. Kids learn this skill over multiple years, introducing more difficult measurement concepts with each grade level. Offer many opportunities for them to practice these skills because mastering the basics will allow kids to move on to the next stage of learning.

Measurement Activities by Grade

A standard learning concept each year of grade school is, you guessed it – measurement. Emphasize the basics in the beginning. What is measurement? How are things measured? Teach uncommon units of measurement and compare objects. Then, teach the standard units of measurement. Introduce more difficult measurement activities and concepts as kids progress through the primary grades.

Since each grade differs, teaching measurement with grade-appropriate lessons and activities is essential. Follow your school’s chosen course of study to know when to teach what concept. Here are some grade-appropriate activities that most schools follow.

• Kindergarten – When teaching measurement in kindergarten, help kids understand basic measurement vocabulary and concepts. Weight, height, and length are just a few essential measurement words that kids begin to understand. Based on these ideas, they also compare, order, and sort items.
• 1st Grade – As kids master the basics of measurement, it’s time to build on what they know! Measurement in 1st grade includes skills that build on their vocabulary, teach standard units of measurement, offer more opportunities for comparisons, ordering, and sorting, and move on to extensions of skills such as estimating capacity.
• 2nd Grade – Learning measurement in 2nd grade involves more extensive practice of the previously learned skills and includes metric and imperial measurement. Kids learn different units of measurement, such as centimeters and inches, as well as distance.
• 3rd Grade – Teaching measurement in 3rd grade means working on capacity in different units, estimating and comparing length, exploring line plots, and telling time to the minute on both analog and digital clocks.

Implement these Measurement Activities Today

There are so many exciting ways to teach measurement to kids. Use the following ideas in the classroom measuring math centers or at home. Each activity can be adjusted appropriately for your age group’s needs.

Teaching Length, Width, and Height Using Non-Standard Measurement Activities

• Measuring with Objects – Make measuring fun by using different items. Instead of getting a ruler and measuring how long their pencil is, give kids marbles and have them figure out how many marbles long the pencil is. You can also use candy, cubes, blocks, or any other fun math manipulatives you might have!

• Measure Objects or Friends – Kids will enjoy working with a partner to measure different items in the room. In this hands-on activity, they can take turns measuring how many cubes long various parts of their bodies or items in the classroom are.

• Compare – Comparing everyday objects is another way to practice measurement. Set a handful of objects in front of a kid and have them arrange them in order. They can be in the order of size or weight, whatever measurement concept you’re working on!

• Challenge Tasks – One great way to get kids moving and figuring out measurement is with challenging tasks. Encourage kids to find an object that is “two hands” tall, for instance.

Length, Width, and Height Using Standard Measurement Activities (With a cm, mm ruler)

• Task Cards – These are great because they encourage kids to measure the length of an object with a ruler, with prompts such as how tall a textbook is. Instead of task cards, kids can use a ruler to measure things around the room and record the measurements.

• Scavenger Hunts – A scavenger hunt is also a great way to teach measurement. Kids will need to search the room for objects that meet the criteria. For example, one thing on the scavenger hunt could be to find something larger than 3 feet wide. Or, they might look for something between 5 and 10 inches long. They can also look for objects that match the images on the cards.

• Stations – Set up stations around the room where kids will measure and record various objects. The objects can be on the cards or physical items.

Teaching Distance using Measurement Activities

• Mapping with Cubes – Determine the distance between two points by placing cubes (or other math manipulatives like counters, dominoes, craft sticks, blocks, pipe cleaners, etc.) between points A and B.

• String Length – Stretch a piece of string between two objects to see how much distance is in between.
• Paper Airplanes – This engaging activity measures the distance a paper airplane travels. Kids can design and create the ultimate paper airplane and test it to see how far it flies.

• Long-distance jump – Mark the floor with masking tape and corresponding distance lengths. Students take long jumps and record their distances. This fun activity will be great for an indoor rainy day, adding some fun physical activity while learning.
• Graphing – Use your distance answers from the activities above to build a graph comparing the distances between objects.

Measurement Activities to Teach Capacity

• Cook! – Yes, cook! One everyday task that uses measurement is cooking! When adding ingredients to a recipe, kids measure with cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, or a “pinch.” Kids can practice measuring capacity by following a recipe and cooking something! Learning will be much more fun if the recipe is for a tasty treat!
• Compare Cups – Each person or group gets 2 cups (one tall, one wide – not the same size, but not easy to tell which holds more either – approximately the same size). Discuss how much you think each cup holds. Determine which cup has more for the assignment and explain your answer.

• Gallon Man – Bring in measuring cups and empty grocery items to discuss ounces, cups, pints, quarts, liters, and gallons (cream, orange juice, milk, etc.). Demonstrate how the smaller items fit into the larger items X number of times. Apply these principles to a gallon man printable for the students to assemble.

Teaching Weight using Measurement Activities

• Hands-On – Holding different objects and judging which are heavier or lighter can help students grasp weight concepts. Give them objects that weigh 1 pound or 1 ounce, and let them hold them to feel the weight in their hands.

• A Scale – Weight is a measurement concept that can be a little tricky. To work on this concept, bring in a scale and allow kids to weigh objects from around the room. If a kid wants to see what their eraser weighs, have them hold the eraser in their hand and get a gauge for how it feels. Then, place it on the scale and see what it weighs! Repeat this with other objects. Soon enough, kids can estimate what an object weighs before actually weighing it!

• Mystery Bags – Fill various bags (lunch bags are easy and can hide the objects inside) with items from around the classroom. Mark each bag with some label, color, letter, or anything else to differentiate them. First, you can have kids guess what might be in the bags so they can use their deductive reasoning skills. Next, have them use a scale and determine the weight. Finally, have the children order the bags from heaviest to lightest or vice versa. Students can fill out a worksheet with various questions.

Teaching Area using Measurement Activities

• Legos – Have some simple Lego creations already built to use in class to practice area and perimeter. The area would be the number of cubes in the creation, whereas the perimeter would be counting the bricks on the edge.
• Covering Shapes – A simple way to teach area at a young age is to have kids cover things or shape cutouts with cards, blocks, cubes, or another non-standard unit. They can estimate how many they think it will take to cover the shape and then check their guess afterward.

• Geoboards – Place a rubber band around the pegs and determine the area and perimeter.
• Graph Paper – Design a space (bedroom, classroom, zoo, city, etc.) on graph paper and have the students determine the area and perimeter. You can do the opposite and make it a project where you assign the area and perimeter, and the students must draw and label the design themselves.

Online Learning Measurement Activities

Many resources are online if you’re looking for an alternative way for kids to practice measurement! These math websites allow kids to practice (and master) math concepts, including measurement.

Measurement Books

Books are among the best resources for teaching any concept. No matter what you teach, it’s essential to use different strategies to help all types of learners, including visual learners.

How can a book help explain a math concept? When reading a measurement book aloud, you allow kids to hear and learn essential measurement vocabulary and observe measurement in action. Once you read a book aloud, it can be added to your classroom library or a center basket so kids can read it themselves!

If you’re ready to teach measurement using books, these measurement books and videos will get you started!

Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

This is a classic book about a little inchworm measuring different things in nature. It is an excellent introduction to measurement.

Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy

In this book, a little girl is assigned to measure things at home. She uses different units to measure her pets. Kids will be drawn to this book and see the practical aspects of measurement.

How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? by David Adler

This is an interactive book that helps students examine the development of units of measurement throughout history. Its hands-on element allows the students to explore the concepts first-hand.

Super Sand Castle Saturday by Stuart J. Murphy

In this fun book, kids participate in a sandcastle-building contest. They use various methods to measure their castles to see who has the longest, tallest, deepest, etc.

Me and the Measure of Things by Joan Sweeney

With bright illustrations, this book introduces students to different measurement units and their typical uses.

How Long or How Wide?: A Measuring Guide by Brian Cleary

The goofy cats in this book explain how to use different units to measure things around them and introduce tools for measuring those objects.

Ants Rule: The Long and Short of It by Bob Barner

As the ants prepare for the Blowout Bug Jamboree!, they have to plan the size of the rides. They measure how much space each bug needs by using themselves (ants) as their unit of measurement. This is a great book to introduce the concept of measurement to early learners.

On the Scale, a Weighty Tale by Brian Cleary

The comical cats are back to introduce the concept of weight. This rhyming book uses goofy examples to help students understand how different weight units compare.

How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller

This funny book is a valuable resource for teaching young learners about the need for standard units of measurement. The king wants to give the queen a bed for her birthday. When using feet of different sizes to measure the bed, the reader can see the need for a standard by which to measure objects.

Millions to Measure by David M. Schwartz

This book explores the invention of measurements, precisely length, weight, and volume. It also addresses the metric system.

Resources for Teaching Measurement

To teach measurement fun and excitingly, check out all of the Mindful Math Resources by Proud to be Primary. There are activities for every grade level that are great for math centers, whole-group lessons, small-group intervention, and independent work.

• Kindergarten Measurement & Time Unit
• First Grade Measurement & Time Unit
• Second Grade Measurement & Time Unit
• Third Grade Measurement & Time Unit

What Teachers Are Saying About Mindful Math Measurement Units

One of the best Math resources when you are trying to supplement a Big Box curriculum. I love that this comes with centers on top of the lessons and other materials. Thank you for this great resource! ~ Farris’ Firsties

I’m loving this so much! Definitely helps me plan out my lessons daily for math!!! ~ Amanda A.

FREE Measurement Activity

Click the image below to sign up for your free resource, Measuring with Cubes Task Cards! Kids will love using the measurement activities in their math stations.

Materials To Teach Measurement

1. Learning Resources Measuring Worms—These bright, squishy worms are an excellent tool for exploring measurement early on. Use them to measure various things around the classroom.
2. Mix and Measure Activity Set—This set is a good way for young students to explore the concept of capacity. The kit contains colorful measuring tools and recipe cards for fun things like slime, puffy paint, and more.
3. Learning Resources Simple Tape Measure—Basic measurement tools are a must in the classroom as students learn how to measure things for themselves. This simple tape measure will be easy for the students to use.
4. InchWorms Measurement Kit – Snap these small inchworm pieces together to create longer measuring tools, teaching students the building blocks of units of measurement.
5. Bucket Balance – This balance allows students to explore the concept of measurement more fully by comparing the weights of various objects and substances, including liquids.
6. Unifix Cubes – Versatile manipulatives used to practice various math concepts, including measurement.
7. Safe-T Ruler in 6 Colors – A basic yet colorful set of rulers for each student to practice their measuring skills.
8. Measurement Mini Bulletin Board—This is an interactive resource that students can use in small groups, hang on the wall, or keep in pocket folders. It provides a good opportunity for kids to practice measurement principles.
9. Gallon Measurement Set – A measuring set for liquid measurements of cups to gallons.

There are so many enjoyable ways to learn about measurement. I hope that the ideas above are helpful to you as you plan your measurement lessons!

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