How Many Paper Clips Long? Measuring Length with Nonstandard Units

Student Task

• Measure a pencil with paper clips in front of the class and show how to start at the edge with no gaps.
• Model a measuring mistake (a gap or an overlap) and ask children to fix it, then do activities 1 and 2 together.
• Children complete activities 3 to 6; answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

• Measuring hunt: pairs measure five classroom objects with cubes and record the results in a table.
• Foot race: children measure the classroom with their own footsteps and compare results to see why units must be the same.
• Snake lengths: children make play dough snakes and measure them with paper clips to find the longest.

Differentiation

Support: measure objects up to 10 units long with linking cubes that snap together. Challenge: measure the same object with two different units and explain why the numbers are different.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 5 check measuring, comparing and word problems (answer key included). Activity 6 checks reasoning about fair measuring.

Learning Objectives

• Measure the length of an object by laying same-size units end to end with no gaps or overlaps.
• Compare two lengths and find how many units longer or shorter one is.
• Explain why we must use the same unit when comparing lengths.

Teacher Tips

Use one kind of unit at a time and make sure every unit is the same size. Ask "Where do we start?" and "Are there any gaps?" before every measurement.

What's Included

• 7-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
• Key vocabulary list (4 words with meanings and examples)
• Student worksheet (6 activities)
• Editable Word version of the worksheet
• Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

Additional Files

• Editable Worksheet (DOCX)
• Answer Key (PDF)

Teacher Reviews