Measuring provides us with a way to represent and compare things in the environment around us using measurements of length (how far or high are the objects), weight (weight or lightness of objects), and volume (the volume of things that fit in a specific space, i.e., containers).

Through creative examples and extracurricular activities, we will look at how to illustrate the concept of Measurement!

1. Length and Height

Definition: Length is a measurement used to determine how long something is, and Height is a measurement used to determine how tall something is.

Activities to Practice:

To practice comparing lengths or heights, there are three types of practice activities:

A. Comparing the lengths or heights of different items (example of comparing longer/shorter and taller/shorter).

Look at the pencils on this page…which pencil is longer?

✏️ (short)

✏️✏️✏️ (long)

B. Use blocks to measure the height of an object (example of measuring a toy with blocks).

The toy car next to the 5 stacked blocks shows that it is 5 blocks tall.

C. Measure the object’s length with a ruler.

Use either centimeters or inches.

Example: The book is 15 centimeters long.

Example: The desk is 60 centimeters tall.

2. Weight

Definition: The term weight is used to refer to how much weight an object has.

Activities:

A. You will learn to compare two objects (one being “heavier” and the other being “lighter”)

* For instance: If we compare a feather and a rock, which of these has more weight? The answer is that the rock weighs more.

B. You will learn to use the balance scale to measure the weights of objects.

* To determine which object has more weight, put one object on one side of the balance scale and the other object on the opposite side. For example: If we compare an apple and an orange, which side of the scale will be tipped down?

C. You will learn to measure the weight of an object using units.

* Weight can be expressed in grams (g) and kilograms (kg).
* A banana has a weight of 120 g.
* A bag of flour has a weight of 1 kg.

3. Capacity

Definition: Capacity is the amount of something (either liquids or objects) that a certain type of object can hold. For Example, a five-gallon bucket will hold approximately 20 liters of fluid, while a six-ounce cup will hold 6 ounces of fluid.

Activity Ideas to Practice Measuring Capacity:

A. Comparing Different Containers

* For example, compare a Fehcel Cup and Five Gallon Bucket.

B. Filling Different Containers

So fill both five-gallon buckets and see how full each container is.

C. Measuring the Amount of Liquids in Milliliters/Milliliters

* When talking about measuring liquids in milliliters or liters we talk about measuring capacity in Litres or Millilitres. For example, a Juice Box contains just under 250 milliliters of fluid, while a water bottle usually contains about 1 liter.