Center
Estimate and Measure (1–4)
Stage 1: Choose Your Unit
Narrative
Students choose an object and a familiar unit to measure it with. They estimate the length of the object and then measure to see the actual length to the nearest whole unit.
Variation:
Students may use base-ten cubes and add the length of two objects to practice adding within 100.
Additional Information
Gather or identify objects of various lengths that are less than 20 units (pencils, markers, books, glue, scissors, shoe, tape dispenser, side of desk).
Stage 2: Centimeters and Inches
Narrative
Students choose an object and a unit (inches, feet, centimeters) to measure it with. They estimate the length of the object and then measure to see the actual length to the nearest whole unit.
Additional Information
Gather or identify objects of various lengths (pencils, markers, books, glue, scissors, shoes, tape dispensers, sides of desk, length of bulletin board).
Stage 3: Quarter Inches
Narrative
Students choose and estimate the length of the object and then measure to see the actual length to the nearest \(\frac{1}{4}\) inch.
Additional Information
Gather or identify objects of various lengths (pencils, markers, books, glue, scissors, shoe, tape dispenser, side of desk, length of bulletin board).
Stage 4: Eighth Inches
Narrative
Students choose and estimate the length of the object and then measure to see the actual length to the nearest \(\frac{1}{8}\) Inch.
Additional Information
Gather or identify objects of various lengths (pencils, markers, books, glue, scissors, shoe, tape dispenser, side of desk, length of bulletin board).