I love teaching nonstandard measurement in my class. There are so, so many hands-on ways to practice this skill.
I put together a prep once and use multiple ways activity to take advantage of the variety of units students can use for nonstandard measuring.
Rainy Day Nonstandard Measurement is a set of activities that is perfect for springtime. It features twelve measurement cards and an array of recording sheets that allow students to use different units of measurement.
Pictured below are some of the ways Rainy Day Nonstandard Measurement can be used. The activities are in no particular order.
First off, students may measure the measurement cards with raindrops. The raindrops are on the recording sheet. Students simply cut them apart and line them up to measure each object.
Students can also use cubes for measuring. Each student will need about ten cubes to complete this version of Rainy Day Nonstandard Measurement.
Next up is measuring with round counters. (I tried to keep in mind what kind manipulative are generally available in most classrooms). Students will need about ten counters for this version of the activity.
The final option features a unit of your or your students' choice. Decide what kind of unit(s) you would like for your students to use. You can put out a few choices for your students to pick from or you can assign a unit. Some possible options are pennies (or any other coins), pattern blocks, paperclips, erasers, etc. Students will write the unit they used near the top of their recording sheets.
For my class I printed the measurement cards four times on different colored paper. During math small groups, students partnered and shared the cards. Four sets worked perfectly for my groups.
On a side note, when printing multiple sets of the same activity, I like to print on different colors of paper. That way, if a card accidentally gets separated from its set, it's easy to return it where it belongs.
It is no problem if you do not have time or resources to print and laminate sets of these cards. You can always print the cards on copy paper and toss them when finished or let students color their own sets.
I really like this activity because I can prep my materials once and use them (well really) as many times my students need. If you would like your own FREE copy of Rainy Day Nonstandard Measurement, you can click here.
Oh, by the way...I also included a nonstandard measurement assessment in this resource as well.
I hope you and your students enjoy this activity. Thanks for stopping by.
