Measurement

4th Grade Math Resources for families

Big Ideas

Solve problems related to perimeter and area of rectangles where dimensions are whole numbers

Solve problems that deal with measurements of length, intervals of time, liquid volumes, mass, and money

Identify relative sizes of measurement units within the customary and metric systems

Convert measurements within the same measurement system, customary or metric, from a smaller unit into a larger unit or a larger unit into a smaller unit when given other equivalent measures represented in a table

Solve problems related to perimeter and area of rectangles where dimensions are whole numbers

  • With your child, identify rectangular shapes in your home (e.g., window, door, top of table, top of dresser, cookie sheet, place mat, rug). Ask your child to use a tape measure or a ruler to measure the length and the width of each rectangle to the nearest inch. Then have your child find the area and perimeter of each rectangle.

Solve problems with measurements of length, intervals of time, liquid volumes, mass, and money

  • Encourage your child to be on the lookout for clocks in stores, in restaurants, or around the home. Ask him to tell the time to the nearest five minutes, to the quarter hour, or to the half hour.
  • If you have metric measurement tools at home, encourage your student to measure objects around the house.

Elapsed Time 1

Elapsed Time 2

Game: Find the Start Time

Game: Measuring Length

Adding Time Word Problems

Identify relative sizes of measurement units within the customary and metric systems

  • Pose questions such as, “Would we measure the distance from here to the store with centimeters, meters, or kilometers?” or “Would we measure a person’s mass in grams or kilograms?” Ask your child to justify his/her answers.

How-To: Relative Measurement

Relative Sizes of Measurement

Convert measurements within the same measurement system, customary or metric, when given other equivalent measures represented in a table

  • Pose questions such as, “Would we measure the distance from here to the store with centimeters, meters, or kilometers?” or “Would we measure a person’s mass in grams or kilograms?” Ask your child to justify his/her answers.
  • Together with your child, look through your kitchen cupboards. Take out several cans of food. Look at the labels to see if you can find any metric units, such as grams, that are comparable. Use the measurements to line the cans up from least to greatest.

Customary Measurement System

Metric Measurement System

How-To: Convert Measurements Represented in a Table

Game: Measurement Conversions