Hands-On Activities for Teaching Measurement to the Nearest 1/4 Inch & Line Plots

 Teaching measurement is such a fun topic to teach because it naturally lends itself to hands-on learning.  In 3rd grade, we learn how to measure to the nearest quarter inch.  I like to teach this concept after we learn about fractions.  This gives students some background knowledge about fractions of a whole.

Rulers can be a bit overwhelming to students when they are trying to make sense of all the "little lines" found between each inch.  A little trick I have learned to help them make sense of this, is to use 4 different colored highlighters to highlight the first inch.  Before passing out the rulers, I highlight each quarter inch in a different color.   

We practice measuring a few examples together, and then its time for them to explore this concept on their own.  We did an "outdoor scoot" using this activity.  To complete the outdoor scoot, I taped the bugs in various places outside.  Students went around in partner groups measuring the bugs and recording their lengths on the recording sheet. The bugs were taped in a central location to give the students enough room to move around, but not too far apart that I could not keep my "teacher eye" on everyone.  If the weather is not cooperating with you, this scoot can also be completed indoors. 

Once everyone gathered their measurement data, we created a line plot. After creating the line plot, its a great time for students to create questions that can be answered by their line plot such as, "What length was most frequently measured?" or "How many bugs measured at least 5 inches?".

Pretty fun right?  If you are in need of additional resources to teach measurement to the nearest quarter inch and line plots, you can find more hand-on activities here:

You can also find printable vocabulary posters here ( color or black and white versions included):