Grade 2
Math Standard(s):.
2.MD.3
Lesson: 15-6
Measuring length
Domain: Measurement and Data
Content Objective(s):
Students will estimate and measure the lengths and heights of
objects using different units.
I can estimate and measure the lengths and heights of objects
using different units.
Essential Understanding:
Measurement is a process of comparing a unit to the object
being measured. The length of an object can be used as a
measurement unit for length.
Reference to English
Language Objective(s):
Students can tell their partner how long objects are using a
variety of measure tools (hands, paper clips..).
I can tell my partner how long an object is using my hands and
paper clips.
Required Academic Vocabulary for Word Wall:
Listen:
Read:
Write:
Speak:
Sentence Frame:
Materials:
Additional Lesson Vocabulary:
Fewer, feet, yards, inches, connecting cubes, paper clips, hands,
 Connecting cubes
forearms, fewer
 Large paper clips
 Crayons
 Erasers
 Staplers
 Books
Lesson:
Instructional Time: 40 minutes
Opening: (4 minutes)
T: “Ok class, please come have a seat on the carpet. Thank you for getting ready so quickly. Now, who remembers which units of
measurement we have learned before? Can anyone give me an example?”
S: “Inch!”
T: “Good! What else?”
S: “Centimeter!”
T: “Excellent! Give me more!”
S: will give you various answers. Write them down on the board.
T: “Excellent! I was really worried you would forget everything we have learned. But good thing you guys are so smart! Can
someone come up and put these in order of smallest unit of measurement to the largest?”
 Pick a couple of students to tell you all the units you have written down on the board in sequential order. As they tell you each
unit, make sure they give you an example of an item that is similar to that unit size.
T: “Good job! You really know your stuff.”
Introduction to New Material (Direct Instruction): (8 minutes)
T: “You have learned how to measure the length of an object. Today, you will use paper clips and connecting cubes to measure
the length and height of objects.
 When you mention the paper clips and connecting cubes, make sure you hold them up so the students can see them.
T: “In three seconds, I would like you to find a partner and stand next to that person, 3, 2, 1! Good! Does anyone not have a
partner? No? Excellent. Now, I would like you to use your hands as a measuring tool. Instead of using a ruler, or a yardstick, I
would like you to use your hand. With your partner, please see how many hands long your desk is.”
 Give them time to measure
T: “Okay, stop. Can anyone tell me the answer?”
S: “My desk is five hands long.”
T: “Now tell your partner how many hands long your desk is.”
S: “my desk is five hands long.”
T: “Good job! This time, instead of using our hands, we are going to use our forearms, which is this area right here (show them
your forearm) It is the area from your elbow to your wrist. See how many forearms your desk is.”
 Give them time to measure
T: “Freeze! Please come and have a seat on the carpet. Thank you for getting here so quickly and quietly. Who can tell me how
many forearms their desk is?”
S: “My desk is equal to 2 forearms.”
T: “Good! Thank you. Anyone else?”
S: “My desk is three forearms.”
T: “Good! Now, we have two different measurements for the same size of desk. It is okay, because I know that these two
students have two different size forearms. Therefore both of their answers are correct. This is also why we use rulers and units of
measurement such as centimeters, inches, etc. So every time we measure with those, everyone will have the same answer.”
 Pass out connecting cubes, paper clips, and classroom objects to pairs, and then hold up a textbook
T: “How can you use connecting cubes and paper clips to measure the length of this book? Go ahead and try measuring with the
connecting cube and paper clip.”
 Give them time to measure using both the paper clip and the connecting cube
T: “Once you are done measuring with both the paper clip and the connecting cube, go ahead and draw a picture of the book in
the space on page 487, and then record how long the book was using the paper clip, and the cube. (Give them time to record the
information) Ok, who can tell me how long their book was using the connecting cube?”
S: “My book was 13 connecting cubes long.”
T: “Good! What about the paper clip? Who can tell me their answer for the paper clip?”
S: “My book was 5 paper clips long.”
T: “Perfect! I’m going to try it too. (Measure the book with your paper clip, and then with the connecting cube. Record your
answers down on the paper. Make sure the students can see what you are doing) Now I would like you to use the same
measuring tools, your paper clip and connecting cube, and measure these items: a crayon, an eraser, and a stapler. Please write
down your answers on the same paper. You will have five minutes. Please begin!”
 Give the students time to finish, and then direct them to the carpet
T: “When you measured the length of the crayon, about how many connecting cubes long was it? I’m going to close my eyes and
point at someone. That person will tell me what they found.”
S: “My crayon was 4 cubes long.”
T: “Excellent! And how many paper clips was it?”
S: “My crayon was 2 paper clips long.”
T: “Excellent, thank you. Please have a seat. Class, did you use more or fewer paper clips than connecting cubes in your
measurement?”
S: “Fewer.”
T: “Why do you think you need fewer paper clips than connecting cubes to measure objects?”
S: will give various answers. Make sure they understand that because the paper clip is longer than a connecting cube, you need fewer
of them.
T: “Please hop back to your seats!”
Guided Practice: (10 minutes)
Use the modeling cycle:
T: “Please turn to page 488. Direct your eyes to the visual learning at the top of the page. Who knows the meaning of length? If
you know the meaning, please turn to the person sitting next to you and whisper the answer to them.”
 Wait for the students to finish whispering
T: “Okay, eyes on me! Who can tell me what they think the word length means?”
S: will give you answer.
T: “Good! The word length is a measure of how long an object is. Let’s take a look at the second box. The chicken is trying to
measure the bookcase with feet. But the bookcase is longer than just one foot. So remember that when the object is longer than
a measuring tool, for example, ‘a ruler, a meterstick, a yardstick,’ you have to place the next ruler exactly where the last ruler
ends with no spaces or overlaps. If you do not have multiple rulers, you can place your fingers at the end of the ruler, and then
move the ruler so the beginning is where your finger is.”
 Make sure to demonstrate this the entire time you are explaining
T: “Let’s now look at the third box. Why do you think the chicken said the bookcase is ‘about’ one yard long and not just 1 yard
long?”
S: “Because the measurement is not an exact one. So the chicken has to use the word about.”
T: “That was a perfect explanation! Let’s look at the last box. The chicken is still measuring the bookcase. Notice that the
bookcase is about 1 yard long. But it is also about three feet long. Because the unit ‘feet’ is smaller than the unit ‘yard’, the object
will be more foot than yards. Remember when you measured your desk with both your hands and your forearm? Who
remembers how many hands their desk was? Tell your neighbor.”
S: “My desk was five hands long!”
T: “How many was it?”
S: “My desk was five hands long.”
T: “Good! And what about your forearms? Show me with your fingers.”
S: will show 2 fingers.
T: “Wonderful. Because your hand is a smaller measuring unit than your forearm, the number of hands your desk is will be bigger.
Are there any questions?”
 If there are questions, try and pose some different examples.
Teacher Does:
T: “Because I am SO forgetful, I forgot what length means. Can someone tell me?”
S: “Length means how long something is.”
T: “Ahhh…thank you for remind me. That is exactly right! What about height? What does height mean?”
S: “It means how tall something is.”
T: “Good! (hold up a textbook) So, if I am measuring the length of this textbook, I measure the top or the bottom right? What if I
want to measure the height? Then I will measure the sides. (Turn the book to its side.) Which side is the height now? (Turn the
book to another side) What about now?”
S: will give you various answers.
T: “Good! Now, let’s do number one on your guided practice.”
 Have the page on the board using a document camera so all the students can see the page. Point to a student
T: “I would like you to read the instructions for us.”
S: “Measure each object using different units. Circle the unit you need more of to measure each object.”
T: “Thank you. So number one has a white board. I am going to take my ruler and measure it.
 Measure the white board, making sure to show them the correct way to move the ruler across.
T: “So, my white board is about 10 feet in length. Let’s write that down on our paper. Now I am going to try and measure it with
a yardstick.” (Do the same as the ruler) It looks like my white board is about three yards long. I am going to write that down as
well. And it looks like the unit it takes more would be yards, right?”
S: “No! It takes more feet to measure the white board!”
T: “Good! So I will circle ‘more feet’ on my paper.”
1 Students Does with Teacher:
T: “I need a student to come up and do number 2 with me.” (Pick a student to help)
S: “I will!”
T: “Thank you! Please measure the chair. From the picture, do you think we will be measuring the length or the height?”
S: “We will be measuring the height.”
T: “Perfect. Please use the ruler to measure the chair using both inches and feet.”
 Watch as the student measures. Make sure to explain what the student is doing and help as needed.
Independent Practice: (5 minutes)
T: “Now you will do number 3 and 4 on your own. Can someone read this instructions on this page for me?”
S: “Measure each object using different units. Circle the unit you need fewer of to measure each object.”
T: “Thank you! Did anyone notice the difference between this page and the page we just did together?”
S: “It says to circle the unit you need fewer of.”
T: “That’s right! Very good! Instead of circling the units you need more of, you need to circle the ones you need less of. You will
have 3 minutes to finish this page. Please begin!”
T: “Okay, time’s up, eyes on me please! Put away the worksheets and come have a seat on the carpet. You have twenty seconds,
20!....”
Closing: (3 minutes)
T: “Thank you for getting to the carpet so quietly! That wasn’t too difficult right?”
S: “No! It was easy!”
T: “Good! Since you have learned how to measure using different units. How can you tell which unit you need to use more of?”
S: “You will always use more of the smaller unit!”
T: “Exactly! Today we learned that you can use different units to measure the lengths of objects. You learned that when you use
two different units, you use fewer of the unit that is larger. Good job today guys! Give the person next to you a high five for being
so awesome!”
Assessment:
A good assessment later in the day might be to use the quick check master.