Materials
ropes of various sizes (including three measuring 1", 1', and 1 yard)ruleryardstickposter showing a measured inch, foot, and yard
Instructions
1. Pass out the ropes, making sure each child gets one length.
2. Before talking about traditional measurement terms, practice measuring together using only the lengths of the ropes as lengths of measurement. For example, sat, "Let's measure the table with Tommy's rope. How many ropes do we need?" Point out that the shorter the length of rope, the more times they will measure with it.
3. Pair the children with others who have different lengths of rope and send them around the room to measure classroom objects. Encourage the pairs to compare their results.
4. After the children have measured several objects together, call them back into the circle and discuss the experience of measuring with the different lengths of rope. Show them the poster with the inch, foot, and yard.
5. Invite the children to match their lengths or rope to one of the units of measure.
