Teaching Measurement in First Grade

Teaching Measurement in First Grade with Nonstandard Units

Hey, y'all! It's time for another new first grade math unit! Woohoo! This one is all about measurement. First graders use nonstandard tools to measure with and that makes the possibilities endless for fun measurement tools.

In this unit, I use plastic cubes or color tiles, but you could really use anything as long as they're all the same size--paperclips, mini erasers, stickers, etc. Snap cubes are the easiest because they stay together. 

On Monday, we go over HOW to measure: lining things up right, no gaps, no overlaps, you get it. We make a chart illustrating the correct way, then we practice. We measure whatever we can find and compare the sizes of everything.

Tuesday through Thursday, students visit math stations practicing these skills. They put things in order from smallest to biggest, identify which object is larger out of a pair of objects, and measure all kinds of things.

On Friday, we use two different sized measurement tools and compare our numbers. Why would one sized tool give us a different number than the other one? What can we infer about this? Some years, my class makes the connect right away and they're ready to move on. Some years, my class needs a little more support in coming to a conclusion. Just keep experimenting till the light comes on! ;)

For more information on this unit, you can check it out in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. This unit is part of a larger year-long math unit you can find here. The bundle will save you a ton of time and money. Be sure to check it out! And while you're there, be sure to follow me on TPT for all the latest updates and newness. 

I hope this helped make your math planning a little bit easier. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous week!

Stay cozy,