Let’s learn about measuring how long things are! We call this measuring length. There are two ways to measure length: using non-standard units and standard units.
Non-standard units are fun because you can use everyday items like paperclips to measure things. To do this, make sure all the paperclips are the same size. Line them up along the side of the object you want to measure. For example, if you have a toothbrush, you can guess how many paperclips long it is. This is called estimating. I might guess the toothbrush is about four paperclips long.
After guessing, we measure to see if we were right. Here are some important rules to remember:
Let’s try another example. Here is a worm and some blocks. Can you guess how many blocks long the worm is? If you guessed 10 blocks, you’re right!
You can use lots of things to measure, like your hands, building blocks, erasers, or pieces of paper. Just remember, they all need to be the same size.
Standard units are special because they are always the same size. We use tools like rulers to measure with standard units. When using a ruler, make sure the object starts at the zero mark on the ruler.
For example, if you measure a block, make sure the edge of the block lines up with the zero on the ruler. If done correctly, you can see the block is about three inches long.
Your thumb is about an inch long. We use inches to measure small things like birthday candles, toy cars, and crayons.
Let’s measure a toothbrush with a ruler. The ruler shows the toothbrush is about six inches long. Can you guess how many inches the worm is? I might guess seven inches, but when we measure, it’s actually six inches. Our guess was close!
Did you know there are 12 inches in one foot? A football is about a foot long. We use feet to measure bigger things like people, chairs, and tables.
Let’s look at a picture frame. Can you guess how many feet long it is? I might guess three feet. When we measure, we find out it’s actually two feet long.
Now, let’s guess how long a television is. Did you guess three feet? That’s right! The television is about three feet long.
Measuring is fun and helps us learn about the size of things around us. Keep practicing, and you’ll become a measuring expert!
Measure Your World: Find three objects in your home or classroom, like a book, a shoe, and a pencil. Use paperclips to measure each object. First, guess how many paperclips long each object is, then measure to see if you were right. Remember to line up the paperclips without gaps! Share your findings with a friend or family member and see if they can guess the lengths too.
Ruler Adventure: Use a ruler to measure the same three objects you measured with paperclips. Write down the length in inches. Compare the measurements you got with paperclips to the measurements with the ruler. Which method do you think is more accurate? Why do you think that is?
Estimation Game: Look around your room and choose an object you think is about one foot long. Use a ruler to measure it and see if your guess was correct. Try this with different objects and see how close your guesses are. Discuss with a friend or family member why estimating is a useful skill and how it helps us in everyday life.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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**Measuring Length**
One way to measure an object is to find its length. Length is how long an object is. There are two types of measurement for length: non-standard units of measurement and standard units of measurement.
Non-standard units of measurement involve using a group of items, such as paperclips, to find the length. Whatever group of items you choose to measure with will work as long as they are all the same size. If you use paperclips, they must all be the same size.
To measure with paperclips, we line up the paperclips along the side of an object to see how many paperclips long it is. For example, here is one paperclip and here is a toothbrush. Can you estimate how many paperclips long the toothbrush is? To estimate means to make a guess. I would estimate that the toothbrush is about four paperclips long.
To check our estimate, we need to measure the toothbrush with paperclips. Three important rules to remember when measuring with non-standard units of measurement are:
1. Make sure all paperclips or other items are the same size.
2. Line up the first paperclip or other object at the edge of the object.
3. Place the paperclips right next to each other.
We estimated that our toothbrush would be four paperclips long, but when we measured it, the actual length was five paperclips. We made a pretty close estimate.
Now, here is one block and here is a worm. Estimate how many blocks long the worm is. Did you estimate 10 blocks? The worm is 10 blocks long.
When using non-standard units of measurement, we can use many different items to help us measure. For example, we can put our hands side by side across our computer keyboard to see how many hands long it is, or we can stack a row of building blocks to see how many building blocks long our dog’s tail is. There are many other items we can use, such as erasers and pieces of paper. The important thing to remember is that whatever group of items you use, they must all be the same size.
Now let’s talk about standard units of measurement. Standard units of measurement are set units that are always the same size. We will use a ruler to measure when using standard units of measurement. The placement of the object to the ruler is very important. We always place the object we are measuring at the end of the ruler, with the edge of the object lined up with zero.
For example, this is not the correct way to measure the block. Notice the placement of the block; the edge of the block is not lined up with the end of the ruler. The measurement of the block is about four inches in this picture.
Now look at this picture. This is the correct way to measure the block. The edge of the block is lined up with the end of the ruler, and the true measurement of the block is about three inches.
Your thumb is about an inch long. We use inches to measure the lengths of smaller objects, such as birthday candles, toy cars, crayons, and pieces of paper.
Let’s measure our toothbrush with inches. Here is the toothbrush and here is a ruler. The ruler shows us that the toothbrush is about six inches long. Can you estimate how many inches the worm is? I would estimate the worm is about seven inches long. Looking at the ruler, we can see that the worm is actually six inches long. Our estimate of seven was very close.
Now, let’s talk about feet. There are 12 inches in one foot. A football is about a foot long. We use feet to measure larger objects, such as people, chairs, bikes, couches, and tables.
Here is a foot and here is a picture frame. Can you estimate how many feet long the frame is? I would estimate the frame is about three feet long. When measuring with a ruler, we need to place the ruler at the edge of the object and then mark where the ruler ends. Then we place the end of the ruler at the mark we made.
We estimated that the picture frame would be about three feet, but the actual length is two feet long.
Can you estimate how long this television is? Did you estimate three feet long? This television is about three feet long.
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This version maintains the educational content while removing any informal language or repetitive phrases.
