Free! Measuring School Supplies – Length
Looking for a printable to introduce your learners to measurement? Check out this free printable of measuring the length of school supplies using a ‘paperclip’ ruler. I LOVE this printable with its cute school clipart and the fun, hands-on practice that preschoolers can get from this activity.
Measuring School Supplies – Length – Free Math Printable
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Measurement – Length
One of the ways of measuring things is to use its length. As preschoolers begin to explore more, they will begin to realize and notice that things differ in length. This thinking process can be initiated as well.
For e.g. when your preschooler is playing with playdough, they can make a few strips of playdough of differing lengths. You can proceed to talk with your preschooler about which strip is longer/longest or which one is shorter/shortest. A further extension would be ask them how they might go about measuring their two strips; e.g. snap cubes, buttons, paper clips, etc. This form of measurement is known as measuring using non-standard units.
Measuring Using Non-Standard Units
Teaching non-standard measurement to preschool students allows them to communicate their reasoning and mathematical thinking in a simple, yet fun, hands-on way! As students become comfortable with the concept of measuring using non-standard units it sets a basic understanding when they need to measure using metric or customary units.
Some items that you can use for measuring using non-standard units are counter bears, paperclips, erasers and snap-cubes. To measure longer items, such as tables or the length of the room, students can use their feet and count the number of feet it takes to cover the length required.
Measuring School Supplies – Length
This a free printable so be sure to download your copy from the end of this post.
This printable contains:
- 26 school supplies
- Paperclip ruler for measuring
- Recording sheet
- Answer key
Materials Needed:
- Printer
- Laminator (if you wish to laminate)
- Free printable (at the end of this post)
Preparing the printable:
Download the free printable and print it in colour or black and white.
When printing, make sure the scaling is set to 100%, to ensure that the measurement of the school supplies is not affected.
Laminate if desired and cut apart.
How to use the printable:
Ask your learner to get the paperclip ruler and place it at one end of the item to be measured. If your learner has trouble placing it at the correct place, just assist them so that they place it correctly.
Ask them to identify until which paperclip they need to count until, which will be the end of the item.
Then if you want to use the recording sheet, ask your learner to record how long the item is, based on the paperclip ruler.
Ideas for using the printable:
Since this printable is based on school supplies, this activity can be extended very easily.
Using the same printable, ask your students to measure the items using other counters such as counter bears, snap cubes and real paperclips and ask them to estimate the number needed. The items are not going to fit exactly but will help students understand the concept of estimation and approximating things.
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