Today I am sharing two measurement math centre activities I have been doing with my Pre Primary class (5 year olds). I have been utilising them as part of our small group work stations and sometimes rotational maths centres.
The aim of these activities is for children to compare the lengths of two (or more) objects using the language associated with measuring length such as shorter, taller, tallest, shortest, etc. Children have the opportunity to compare objects directly by placing one object against another to determine which is longer.
I like to use small group work or centre activities in my classroom to consolidate the learning completed during mat sessions or whole class tasks. It provides children with the opportunity for peer to peer learning in a hands-on context.
The Printable Measurement Activity Mats used in this post are available for purchase in my online shop.
What you will need?
Children can measure and compare the lengths of several different items. I have changed our items when using our printable measurement mats to keep the interest and provide a variety of different tools. You can use different length tools such as straws, wool (yarn), leaves or string. Another idea is to make a basket of mixed up items that are not the same for children to compare and order from shortest to tallest. The ideas are endless!
The Measurement Mats come in a set of 8 pages. 4 pages measure from shortest to tallest and the other 4 pages measure tallest to shortest. The mats are a mix of multi-cultural children, with 2 boys and 2 girls. The Measurement Mats clearly shows a starting point for measuring the different tools.
Available in 2 fonts:
- Printable Measurement Activity Mats STANDARD PRINT
- Printable Measurement Activity Mats CURSIVE PRINT (shown in the photos in this post)
In other activities we have compared the height of 3 friends and drew a picture labelling and writing our friends names. We have also compared the length of 3 friend’s shoes. I have planned this week to add measuring jumping frogs to our group activities.
The items shown in the picture are called Measuring Worms by Learning Resources and I purchased mine from here .
There are 72 in a set and each colour is available in 4 lengths. This is great for those children who are still grasping the concept and need less items to compare and measure.
I also made up small bags of coloured wool with different lengths. Children laid these out on the table to see and compare the different lengths before arranging them from shortest to tallest or tallest to shortest on the mats.
You could also use play dough, different length pencils, twigs, leaves or different length straws.
Using a number line is also another great way to provide children with a starting point to compare the length of different objects. For some of my children 10 sticks were too much but a great challenge for stronger students. I also made bags up a 5 different length sticks for children to compare and arrange from tallest to shortest. When they had finished they swapped bags and tried a set of different lengths and this time arranged them from shortest to tallest. Some children arranged their sticks from counting down from 10 along the number line.
The same activity again using different manipulative tools. Again these Measuring Worms are good for those children who are still grasping the concept and need less items to compare and measure.
Another Printable Measurement Centre Activity
The Printable Measuring Length Activity Mats provide another hands-on opportunity for children to indirectly measure a range of pictures and write their answers on a record sheet. All six recording sheets are different and have different pictures to measure (16 pictures in total). Laminate the measurement recording sheets and pictures for a re-usable resource that can be used over and over again.
Learning Opportunities
- Use suitable language associated with measurement attributes such as shorter, shortest, longer, longest, tall, taller and tallest.
- Measurement – comparing objects directly by placing one object against another to determine which is longer, taller, shorter.
- Problem solve and overcome challenges
Click here for more MEASUREMENT activities & play ideas
Keep an eye out for more measurement activities and printables to come!
Available in our Learning 4 Kids online shop:
Please click on the product names to view full product details.
Printable Measurement Activity Mats (CURSIVE PRINT)
Printable Measurement Activity Mats (STANDARD PRINT)
This is a great article. I am a Kindergarten teacher and I will definitely try to incorporate some of these ideas into my lessons.
This is a great article. I am a Kindergarten teacher and I will definitely try to incorporate some of these ideas into my lessons.
When a child learns maths skills early on, it proves useful throughout life. Here’s a fun activity to begin teaching maths to your child.
https://www.parentcircle.com/article/maths-activity-using-stickers-for-your-preschooler/