LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Measurement with Standard Units
ENGAGE (5 - 10 min.)
 Review the expectations of working in the outdoor classroom.
 Ask students to name off some of the units that are used to
measure distance. (inches, feet, yards, miles, millimeters,
centimeters, meters, etc.)
 Ask students to create a 6 column chart in their journal and label
each column with inch, foot, yard, millimeter, centimeter, and
meter
Grade
4th
Timeframe
45 minutes
Materials
 Journals and pencils
 Measuring tape, one per
student
EXPLORE (20 min.)
 Working individually or in pairs, give students time to explore the
outdoor classroom with a measuring tape, looking for something that is almost exactly one inch, one
foot, one yard, one millimeter, etc. long. Once they find an object that is close to the unit they are
using, they should record it in their journal under the corresponding column.
 While students are working, move around the outdoor classroom checking on their use of the
measuring tape and the strategies they are using to identify units on the tool. This is time for them to
explore the use of the measuring tape, and it is okay if they struggle with identifying millimeters, feet,
etc.
EXPLAIN (10 min.)
 Bring students back to central gathering area where they can share some of the objects they found
that were almost exactly one inch, one foot, one yard, one millimeter, etc. long.
 Ask students to share some of the strategies they used while filling in their charts (finding the “zero” on
the measuring tape, using 12 inches to find something with the length of one foot, finding the tiny “in”
written on the measuring tape to help them figure out which lines were inches, etc.)
ELABORATE (10 min.)
 Tells students they may go find at least one more object in the outdoor classroom that they will
measure and record in their journal. Remind them of the importance of labeling the unit that they
used.
EVALUATE (5 – 10 min.)
 Teacher will monitor journals for student understanding of objective.
Copyright  2014 REAL School Gardens
www.realschoolgardens.org
© REAL School Gardens, 2012
OBJECTIVES
Math
4.8(A) identify relative sizes of measurement units within the customary and metric
4.8 B convert measurements within the same measurement system, customary or metric, from a smaller
unit into a larger unit or a larger unit into a smaller unit when given other equivalent measures
represented in a table
Copyright  2014 REAL School Gardens
www.realschoolgardens.org/lessons