How Hot? How Cold? Reading Thermometers

About This Resource

A free Grade 2 math worksheet on reading thermometers in degrees Celsius. Children read scales marked in steps of two degrees, match temperatures to hot and cold situations, sort temperatures, find the new temperature when it rises or falls and draw their own thermometer reading. Includes a timed lesson plan, a six-activity worksheet, an editable Word version and answer key.

Overview

A thermometer measures temperature: how hot or cold something is. Children learn to read the scale by finding the top of the red line and counting the marks, which go up in twos. They connect temperatures to real life: water freezes at 0 °C, a classroom is often about 20 °C and a hot summer day can be 35 °C or more. Children read thermometer pictures, choose sensible temperatures, sort hot and cold temperatures, work out new temperatures when the weather gets warmer or colder and draw a thermometer showing a given temperature.

Resource Details

Subject: Math
Topic: Reading Thermometers
Category: Measurement
File Type: PDF
File Size: 227.9 KB
Published: 12 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 2 math (ages 7–8) 40 minutes Measurement reading scales counting in twos addition and subtraction

Student Task

Show a real thermometer or a large drawing. Ask: "What does it measure? Where is the top of the red line?"
Count the marks in twos together, then do activities 1 and 2.
Children complete activities 3 to 6. Answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Class weather station: read the outdoor thermometer each morning for a week and record the temperatures in a table.
Hot or cold? Call out temperatures; children fan themselves for hot and shiver for cold.
Cup test: compare the temperature of a cup of cold water and a cup of warm tap water.

Differentiation

Support: use a large class thermometer with every mark labeled and keep temperatures below 20 °C. Challenge: children read thermometers with steps of five and find the difference between two temperatures.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 5 check reading scales and temperature changes (answer key included). Activity 6 shows whether children can show a temperature on a scale.

Learning Objectives

Read a thermometer scale marked in steps of two degrees Celsius.
Match temperatures to hot and cold situations.
Find a new temperature when it rises or falls.

Teacher Tips

This worksheet uses degrees Celsius, the scale used in science and in most countries. If your thermometer has a second scale, show children which side to read. Remind children to read at the top of the red line and to count the unlabeled marks.

What's Included

7-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (6 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)