Guided Practice: Measuring and Comparing Lengths
What We Will Practice
In this guided practice lesson, we will work through measurement problems together step by step. You will practice:
- Measuring objects using small units (like paper clips or cubes)
- Comparing the lengths of two or more objects
- Using words like longer, shorter, and same length
- Ordering objects from shortest to longest
Worked Examples
Example 1: Measuring with Paper Clips
Problem: A marker is lined up with paper clips. How many paper clips long is the marker?
[MARKER==================]
[clip][clip][clip][clip][clip][clip]
Step 1: Count each paper clip from left to right.
Step 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Answer: The marker is 6 paper clips long.
Example 2: Comparing Two Pencils
Problem: Which pencil is longer?
Pencil A: [==========]
Pencil B: [================]
Step 1: Line up both pencils at the same starting point.
Step 2: Look at which one goes farther to the right.
Answer: Pencil B is longer than Pencil A.
Example 3: Ordering by Length
Problem: Put these crayons in order from shortest to longest.
Red: [========]
Blue: [====]
Green: [============]
Step 1: Find the shortest (Blue - 4 units).
Step 2: Find the medium one (Red - 8 units).
Step 3: Find the longest (Green - 12 units).
Answer: Blue, Red, Green (shortest to longest)
Practice Problems
Try these problems with your teacher or a helper. Talk through each step!
Problem 1
A ribbon is lined up with cubes. How many cubes long is the ribbon?
[RIBBON=============]
[cube][cube][cube][cube][cube]
Show Answer
The ribbon is 5 cubes long.
Problem 2
Which string is shorter?
String A: [==============]
String B: [========]
Show Answer
String B is shorter.
Problem 3
A toy car is 7 cubes long. A toy truck is 10 cubes long. Which is longer?
Show Answer
The toy truck is longer because 10 is more than 7.
Problem 4
Put these in order from shortest to longest: A book (8 cubes), A pencil (4 cubes), A ruler (12 cubes)
Show Answer
Pencil, Book, Ruler (4, 8, 12)
Problem 5
Two sticks are the same length. Each is 6 paper clips long. How many paper clips long are they together end-to-end?
Show Answer
12 paper clips (6 + 6 = 12)
Problem 6
A red crayon is longer than a blue crayon. The blue crayon is longer than a yellow crayon. Which crayon is the shortest?
Show Answer
The yellow crayon is the shortest.
Problem 7
Count the cubes to measure each snake:
Snake A: [cube][cube][cube][cube]
Snake B: [cube][cube][cube][cube][cube][cube][cube]
How much longer is Snake B than Snake A?
Show Answer
Snake A is 4 cubes. Snake B is 7 cubes. Snake B is 3 cubes longer (7 - 4 = 3).
Problem 8
You have a straw that is 9 paper clips long. You cut off 3 paper clips worth. How long is the straw now?
Show Answer
The straw is now 6 paper clips long (9 - 3 = 6).
Check Your Understanding
Before moving on, make sure you can answer "yes" to these questions:
- Can you count units to measure how long something is?
- Can you compare two objects and tell which is longer or shorter?
- Can you put three or more objects in order by length?
- Can you figure out how much longer one object is than another?
Next Steps
- If you got most problems correct, move on to Word Problems!
- If some problems were tricky, review Measuring Length and Comparing Lengths lessons first.
- Try measuring real objects at home with paper clips or your fingers!