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Non Standard Measurement Activities {Hands-On FUN!}

Non Standard Measurement Activities {Hands-On FUN!}
By A Plus TeacherOn

Explore Early measurement with these fun Non Standard Measurement activities for kids. These hands-on math activities make learning measuring length, mass and capacity a breeze!

Before kids are introduced Standard Measurement using rulers and measuring tapes they need to understand what measuring is all about. To build deep understanding of the measurement process and the skills needed to measure accurately kids need to practice measuring using informal non standard units like popsticks, paper clips and blocks.

So what is nonstandard measurement?

Non standard measurement is using an informal unit to measure objects. It’s used by students in Foundation Stage, Kindergarten, Nursery, Reception and Year 1. The purpose of non-standard measurement is to focus the child on key measuring skills rather than reading tricky scaled instruments. Non Standard measurement helps kids learn to:

  • select the right tool to measure the object being measured
  • select the same unit and not different units when measuring an object
  • measure without gaps or overlaps
  • start and end the measuring in the right spots
  • measure it straight
  • be precise

Non Standard Measurement Activities For Measuring Length, Mass & Capacity

Here are some activities to get you started. Signup to get the Resources! Members Login To Access The Downloads.

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Measurement Playdough Mats & Math Center Activities

Comparing Length Sunflower themed playdough mats
These fun measuring length playdough mats are perfect for preschool toddlers and Kindergarten Kids. They'll love learning to compare & order longer, shorter and the same length sunflowers! #learningmath
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Image of comparing long & short worms play tray
Play Trays are great sensory experiences to help kids learn. This worm themed one is great for exploring long and short! It also includes student cut & stick worksheets too!
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These fun measuring length playdough mats are perfect for preschool toddlers and Kindergarten Kids. They'll love learning to compare & order longer, shorter and the same length pencils!
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These fun measuring and comparing play dough mats are perfect for preschool toddlers and Kindergarten Kids. They'll love learning to compare & order big, small and the same sized ice creams!
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There are 9 different Milkshake themed activities for ordering & Comparing capacity in this set. Very low prep and available in B&W too. Includes Full, Empty, Almost Full, Almost empty, nearly full, nearly empty. These activities would be perfect in a home corner, playdough or play tray activity center too!
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There are 9 different Jelly Bean themed activities for ordering & Comparing capacity in this set. Very low prep. Includes Full, Empty, Almost Full, Half Full, Half Empty Almost empty, nearly full, nearly empty. These activities would be perfect in a home corner, playdough or play tray activity center too!
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There are 9 different Drink Bottle themed activities for ordering & Comparing capacity in this set. Very low prep. Includes Full, Empty, Almost Full, Half Full, Half Empty Almost empty, nearly full, nearly empty. These activities would be perfect in a home corner, playdough or play tray activity center too!
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These fun measuring length playdough mats are perfect for preschool toddlers and Kindergarten Kids. They'll love learning to compare & order longer, shorter and the same length worms! #learningmath
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This is a fun craft activity for helping your kids learn about heavy and light. They will love sorting and comparing items that are heavier or lighter than them. What's more it's super cute for displaying in your classroom too! Grab these mass/weight activities from our website!
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This is a fun Heavy & Light (Heavier & Lighter) math center activity for your kiddos. There are 13 different balance scale images, a set of 3 boys, 3 girls and 72 images to compare and sort into heavy and light. We added everything into a gorgeous play tray of cotton wool and rocks, for some added sensory play!
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Measuring Mats Product Image
24 A4 measuring mats for length with informal units rulers. There are 24 objects to measure and 6 different informal units rulers. Students select the correct ruler to measure each object with. Includes student recording sheet too.
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Measurement Task Cards

24 measuring with the correct unit task cards. Students identify the correct unit of measure for length (cm, m, km) capacity (mL, L) mass/weight (g,kg, t) a range of everyday objects. There's also an introduction to time and how long it takes to do everyday tasks, seconds, minutes or hours!Includes instructions for playing Scoot and recording grid for answers.
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24 measuring and comparing capacity task cards. Students identify the correct unit of measure, mL or L and compare which holds the most or least. Includes instructions for playing Scoot and recording grid for answers.
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24 measuring and comparing length task cards. Students identify the correct unit of measure, cm or m and compare which is the longest or shortest. Includes instructions for playing Scoot and recording grid for answers.
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24 Comparing Mass/Weight task cards focussing on direct comparison. Students use everyday classroom objects to compare against each other. e.g 6 paper clips and 2 pegs. They are asked which is heavier, heaviest, lighter, lightest between 2 objects.
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24 measuring length task cards using Broken Rulers. These task cards work well in a center or as a whole class game of "SCOOT" instructions are included. The cards include images of classroom or school items that the students are familiar with. The focus of this task is to check that students understand how to measure using a repeating unit and read a calibrated scale correctly to measure objects.
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24 measuring Mass/Weight task cards using pan balancing scales. Includes instructions for playing Scoot and recording grid for answers. These bright ordering & Comparing mass/weight activities are a great addition to any measuring math center. Perfect teacher resources to help kids learn to measure using balance scales and how to compare and order objects based on how heavy or light they are.
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28 Angles Task cards to help students compare angles to Right Angles. Students use the <> symbols and angle names (acute, obtuse etc) to classify each angle on the task cards.
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24 measuring length task cards using informal non standard units. These task cards work well in a center or as a whole class game of "SCOOT" instructions are included. The cards include images of classroom or school items that the students are familiar with and there are several non standard units included - unifix, popstick, pegs, paperclips, and lego.
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24 measuring length task cards using informal non standard units. These task cards work well in a center or as a whole class game of "SCOOT" instructions are included. Students select a card and are asked to find out how long an object is. They are prompted to select the right tool to measure the object with. Finally they can record the measurement & the tool they used onto the student grid.
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24 measuring length task cards using informal non standard units. These task cards work well in a center or as a whole class game of "SCOOT" instructions are included. The cards include images of classroom or school items that the students are familiar with. The focus of this task is starting & ending points, and each object is placed mid way on an informal ruler. Your students will learn how to measure the object not count how many units.
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24 measuring length task cards focussing on direct comparison. Students use everyday classroom objects to compare against each other. e.g 6 paper clips and 2 pegs. They are asked which is longer, longest, shorter or shortest between 2 objects.
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Measurement Visuals

Poster images
Everything you need for a play table or a bulletin board for measuring length using non standard unit. There's' borders, bunting and posters showing how to measure correctly and length measurement words.
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Weight Word Wall p-k-1 Spot backgrounds
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Length Words For Pre-K and first grade. Spot theme
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Time Word Wall p-k-1 Spot theme
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Capacity Word Wall p-k-1 Spot Theme
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We created our task cards to fit into the portable photo keeper storage system, that our fans recommended to us. You can see this and more essential classroom resources on our Amazon Shop.

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