The most recent measuring task is listed at the top of the page.
Why does it feel so good to go swimming on a hot day? Part of it is what happens when you get out of the water. Wet a piece of cloth. Take its temperature as it dries. What does this say about cooling off with a swim?
Did you measure yourself at the beginning of school? It is time to see if you have grown. If you did not measure yourself last September, measure yourself now and at the end of summer. How tall are you? How big around is your head? How long is your foot?
On a sunny day, get someone to help you measure your shadow on the floor or on the sidewalk outside. Come back in an hour and measure it again. What happened?
Most liquids are measured in cups, pints or liters. Rain is kind of like snow, you measure how deep it is. Put a coffee can or other straight-sided can outdoors before it rains. After the rain stops, measure how deep the water in the can is. How much rain did you get? Your teacher could make a can of water for you to practice measuring before a rainstorm. Then you will be ready when rain comes.
Which has the most mass, a golf ball, a ping pong ball, a tennis ball or a baseball?
What is the mass of a dandelion flower head (how much does it weigh)? How many of them do you need to balance a gram?
Spring is the time for growing things. Do you have plants in your classroom? Measure how tall they are twice a week. Make a chart to show their growth. Raising tadpoles or other animals? Measure them and chart their growth too.
Cottontail rabbits can jump about 8 feet in one jump. Snowshoe hares can jump about 13 feet in one leap. Jackrabbits can jump about 20 feet. Measure these lengths on the floor. How far can you jump in one jump?
How much does a chicken egg weigh? Do you think it would weigh the same when it is cooked? How could you find out?
How long can you stand on one foot without holding on to anything?
The yard was invented as a unit of measure in England. A yard was the distance from the end of the nose of King Henry I to the end of his thumb when he held his arm up, pointing sideways. What is the length from the end of your nose to the end of your thumb when you hold your arm out to the side? Is it 36 inches? Can you find someone who does measure 36 inches from the end of his or her nose to the end of his or her thumb?
Put a piece of masking tape on the floor. Put your foot there and take 12 steps. Put another piece of tape there. How far is it between the two pieces of tape?
What is the heaviest book you have? How much does it weigh?
Write the whole alphabet on a piece of paper. Measure how long it is from letter A to letter Z. Write the alphabet again, as small as you can. How long is it from A to Z now?
Put a piece of black paper and a piece of white paper where the sun can shine on them. Find out the temperature under each piece of paper. Are they the same? Why or why not?
Measure how big around your head is and how big around your waist is. Which is bigger? By how much?
Guess how long the longest wall in your classroom is. Find out how long it really is.
Which has a greater mass, snow or water? How can you find out? Remember to weigh (find the mass of) the same volume of snow and water. Draw a picture or write a couple of sentences to tell what you did and what you found out.
Who has the biggest mittens or gloves in your class? How can you find out?
How deep can snow be before it goes over the top of your boots?
What happens when you blow on a thermometer? Does the temperature stay the same? What if the thermometer is wet? Does it stay the same or change when you blow on it? Why do you think this happened?
When you cook or bake, you measure in teaspoons, tablespoons and cups or parts of a cup. How big are these measurements? How many tablespoons make 1 cup? How many teaspoons make a tablespoon? How many tablespoons make a quarter of a cup?
Measure how big your desk is. How wide is it? How long is it? Measure it two times. Measure it in inches and then in centimeters. Write down all your answers. Which answers were bigger numbers, the inch answers or the centimeter answers?
Which would you rather have, 20 grams of candy or a half cup of candy? Why?
Make a turkey feather from colored paper. Make your feather 10 long and 3 wide. Your teacher will use all the feathers to make a turkey bulletin board. When it is done, why are the feathers different sizes? What is a unit of measure?
How much can you hold in your hands? What would you use to measure this? If someone filled both of your hands with pieces of candy, how much would they hold?
Do big pumpkins have bigger seeds than little pumpkins? How can you find out? Try it.
Once upon a time, there was a country with a king. The king wanted to give everyone a tool to measure how long things are. They called the tool a foot. It was as long as the foot of the king. Can you find someone who has a foot that is as long as a modern, 12 inch foot?
ESP sends dry soil for planting seeds. Dry soil weighs less than wet soil and costs less to ship. So how heavy is water? How much does a pint of water weigh? How much does a quart of water weigh? What does a gallon of water weigh?
What is the temperature of the cold water when it comes from the faucet? What is the temperature of the hot water when it comes from the faucet?
Measure how big your desk is. Be sure to measure how tall it is, how wide it is and how long it is. Measure it two times, once in inches and once in centimeters. Write down all your answers. Which answers were bigger numbers, the inch answers or the centimeter answers?
How tall are you? How big around is your head? How long is your foot? Save the answers and check again near the end of the school year.