Measurement also help students make connections within mathematics. For example, as students begin to develop understanding of fraction concepts, they extend their understanding of measurement to include fractions of units as well. Measurement is inextricably interwoven with developing understanding of the geometric concepts of perimeter, area, and volume. Furthermore, student develop their estimation skills as they develop their understanding of measurement.

Students continue to develop their ability to identify the property to be measured. In addition to length, distance, capacity, weight, area, volume, time, and temperature, they now are able to discuss the size of angles and the speed of a car or a biker. Students begin to make more indirect measurements. For example, they will measure a desk to find out whether it will fit through a door, or measure how far a toy car goes in a minute and divide to find its speed.

The emphasis in these grades is on moving from non-standard units to the use of standard units of measurement. They solidify their understanding of the basic units introduced in the earlier grades and begin to use fractional units. Students use half-inches, quarter-inches, and eighths of an inch, for example, in measuring the lengths of objects. Students also begin to use some of the larger measures: miles, kilometers, and tons.

Some students may also begin to develop formulas to help count units. For example, students may use shortcuts to find out how many squares cover a rectangle, multiplying the number of rows times the number of squares in each row. Or they may find the distance around an object by measuring each side and then adding the measures.

In summary, in grades 3 and 4, it is important that all students get extensive hands-on experience with measuring properties of a wide variety of physical objects. They will learn to measure by actually doing so with an appropriate measuring instrument.

Building upon K-2 expectations, experiences in grades 3-4 will be such that all students:

A. use and describe measures of length, distance, capacity, weight, area, volume, time, and temperature.

• Students find out how many inches long their hand is. The class might then generate a graph showing the results.
• Using a large map, students estimate and then use centimeter cubes to find who goes farther to school. This type of activity might be related to a specific story that has been read in class.
• Students use rulers to measure the length of the room in feet and inches.
• Students move thermometers to different parts of the school, recording the temperature at each location. For example, it may be very hot in the cafeteria and very cold in the gym. They learn to identify appropriate reference points on both Celsius and Fahrenheit scales (e.g., 30 degrees C is a hot day).
• Students investigate truth-in-packaging by estimating and then using balances to weigh foods.
• Students investigate how many cups in a pint, how many pints in a quart, and how many quarts in a gallon by making lemonade and filling various sizes of containers.
• Students make their own measuring jug using an empty mayonnaise jar. They pour in one cupful of water and mark the water level on the jar with a marker, then another and another.
• Students make their own ruler, marking off intervals equal to the length of one centimeter.
• Students estimate and measure the distance around an object using centimeter cubes or measuring tapes.
• Students conduct experiments using timers: how many times can you bounce a ball, clap your hands, or blink your eyes in one minute?
• Students use calculators to help them find out how many days old they are.
• When going on a field trip, students determine how much time they will have available at a museum by considering when they will arrive and when they must leave.
• Students use wooden cubes to fill rectangular boxes of various sizes as they develop the concept of volume.

• Students compare the areas of different leaves. They use a variety of strategies; some students cover the leaves with centimeter cubes, others make a copy of the leaf on grid paper, and still others just "eyeball" it. They discuss the different strategies used, comparing their advantages and disadvantages.
• Students bring in cereal boxes from home and put them in order from smallest volume to largest volume.
• Students build bridges using straws and pipe cleaners, estimate how many washers their bridge will hold, and then place washers on their bridge until it buckles or breaks. They compare different types of bridges to determine what type is strongest.
• Students estimate and then weigh objects, putting them in order from heaviest to lightest.

• Students measure the length of their classroom using their paces and compare their results. They discuss what would happen if the teacher measured the room with her pace.
• Students read and discuss How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myllar. The king wishes to give the queen a special bed for her birthday and measures the size using his foot. He gives the measurements to the carpenter, who gives them to the little apprentice. The bed is too small, but the apprentice solves the problem and everyone lives happily ever after. They use their own feet to measure the length of the hallway and compare their results. Finally, they measure the hallway using metersticks.

• Students identify things on their body that are the same length as one centimeter and use them to measure the length of their pencil.
• Students find out that ten pennies weigh about an ounce.
• Students measure the length of their pace in inches and use that information, along with a measurement of the length of the room in paces, to find the length of the room in inches.

• Students decide what units they should use to measure the weight of a pencil.
• Students discuss what units they should use to measure the length of the gym.
• Students write about how they might measure the distance from the cafeteria to their classroom.

• Students estimate the weight of various objects in grams and then use a balance scale to check the accuracy of their measurements.
• Students estimate the weight and then weigh animal crackers (without the box), graphing their results and comparing their results to the weights indicated on the packages.

• Students measure the heights of bean plants at regular intervals, making a graph of their findings.
• Students estimate and weigh cupfuls of jellybeans, raisins, dried beans, peanuts, and sand to find out that equal volumes of different objects do not always weigh the same.
• Students learn how much water is in different foods by first trimming pieces of 5 foods to a standard 15 grams, then measuring their weights again the next day.
• Students estimate what fraction of an orange is edible, then weigh oranges, peel them and separate the edible parts, weigh the edible part, and then compute what fraction is actually edible and compare that fraction to their estimate.