Activity: Compare Lengths
Let's ...
Measure lengths in different ways.
How Will We Measure?
We will use these "measuring tools":
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Paperclips |
 |
Your hand |
 |
A small piece of string |
 |
Your steps |
Gather Items to Measure
We want some things to measure! Gather up these items:
- A small book
- A large book
- A pencil
- A plate
- A bag
Put them all on a Table, which you can also measure!
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Also measure the height of a chair. And the width and length of the Room you are in. |
How To Measure
This book is 5 paperclips wide
If you don't have enough paperclips, then pick up
the ones you started with and use them again
You can put the chair on its side to measure it.
Using Paperclips
For each item:
- First guess how many Paperclips the length is
- Then measure it using the Paperclips
| Item | Guess | Actual |
| Example: Small Book | 3 | 4 |
| Small Book | ||
| Large Book | ||
| Plate | ||
| Bag | ||
| Chair (height) | ||
| Table (width) | ||
| Table (length) |
Using Your Hands:
First guess how many "hands" are needed, then do the actual measurement:
| Item | Guess | Actual |
| Small Book | ||
| Large Book | ||
| Plate | ||
| Bag | ||
| Chair (height) | ||
| Table (width) | ||
| Table (length) |
Using String:
First guess how many lengths of your string are needed, then do the actual measurement:
| Item | Guess | Actual |
| Chair (height) | ||
| Table (width) | ||
| Table (length) | ||
| Room (width) | ||
| Room (length) |
Using Your Steps:
Now step out these distances:
| Item | Guess | Actual |
| Chair (height) | ||
| Table (width) | ||
| Table (length) | ||
| Room (width) | ||
| Room (length) |
From Smallest to Largest
Lastly, list all the items you measured, from the smallest to largest distance.
Example: Small book, Plate, ...