It is said that ‘One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions. If you can’t measure it, you can’t change it.’ From knowing the weight of an object in Physics to adding a particular quantity through measuring in Chemistry, and what not! Measurement, as a concept, is inescapable.
This is one topic that is used in every sphere of life. But, teaching these crucial topics effectively too becomes a tough nut to crack. This is for the simple fact that these topics must be compellingly taught in a way in which students can grasp and retain the topics for a long time! And for this purpose, some measurement activities can come into use.
To make the learning process even more fun, and captivating, parents and educators can include online games which can help students learn a great deal about measurements, as a concept. In this post, we will talk about some games that will help your little learner know all about measuring and the various attributes this topic brings along.
Measurements: A far-reaching concept for young learners
Measurements can be bewildering. When 1 Km is 1000 m, then why is 1m = 100 cm? This can be an uphill struggle for the little learner. But, at the same time, this is one concept that kids cannot run away from! This is because the concept is paramount due to many factors.
Measuring tools like rulers, thermometers, inch tapes, and scales make our life easier by measuring and giving the exact number that we want. However, these tools are there just because of the concept of measurements. Hence, this topic gives us the ability to measure and quantify the things, objects, and spaces around us.
When kids are taught to calculate and measure things accurately, they can follow the pattern easily in their life as well. Moreover, measurement as a topic would be used in their personal, and professional lives as well! And hence, learning this concept becomes absolutely imperative.
Getting a good grasp of measurements also becomes crucial because these are used in our everyday life. Whether in sports, or in stitching clothes, or even in a simple task like buying vegetables — life without measurements and the various tools would be indeed haphazard. Imagine living in a world where you don’t know whether you are holding 5Kgs or weight, or just 1; or whether your destination is 1Km away, or 10! Hence, measurement has abundant uses; some of which are:
- Making estimations: Estimation is part of everything, especially time. One can never guess the exact time when you will arrive somewhere or when a certain thing will get over, which is why you inform or assume an approx time when someone asks. For that, you should have previous knowledge about the task that you are doing and in how much time it usually gets completed or if you have to reach a place by when can you reach the quickest? Or if there is traffic that you usually face every day while traveling to your office, at what time should you leave the earliest to reach there on time? And not to mention, all of these need the basic and fundamental understanding of measurements.
- Proper use of capacity: Just how many clothes can you fit in a dresser or closet without it becoming too cramped? Without a clear concept of capacity, you might find yourself pouring an entire half-gallon of orange juice into a small glass! Or, you might be allowed to take only 5Kgs of luggage in a particular flight, but you have filled up a whole bag and are now clueless about how to measure how many kg is the bag? Without measurements and its tools, this function cannot be exerted.
- Cooking: Cooking of all forms is based on proper attention to measurement, whether it’s baking, frying, or even steaming. You have to add all sorts of spice, salt, and sugar in a specific amount, or else their taste would matter accordingly. You might be baking a cake, and putting in 5 spoons of baking powder, but the actual recipe demands only 10 grams of the baking powder! How would you measure the actual amount without knowing the nitty-gritty of measurement?
- Building a house: Building a house can require tons of measurements. A window needs to be a certain height, while the bedroom needs to be a certain length, and the roof needs to be inclined at a certain angle! All of these would need an accurate measurement! Moreover, a house may need a certain amount of bricks, cement, and all the other things used. How would one possibly know how much to get to build a house without knowing how to measure!
- Sports: The importance of measurements may not necessarily reveal itself when you play sports but it is there in a big way. If you want to throw a runner out at first or make a 30-yard touchdown pass then you really need to be accurate and come from a clear sense of depth and distance.
Online games to teach measurement
1. Measuring in Centimeters
This measuring game is ideal for kids up to 9-10 years, as this focuses on the basics of measurements. With a ruler, and different objects like scissors, pen, paintbrush, etc, the players need to measure the exact length of each of the objects and click on the correct option from the 4 choices given.
Choosing the right answer will award the kids with one point. The aim is to score as much as possible. The game has two levels; the first one being an easy one, and the second one being a bit more advanced.
With a reading scale given in the game, the students can get a good hang of measurements, and they can comprehend more about how to measure using the scale. All in all, the game is a great tool to introduce measurements to little ones.
2. Mostly Postie
This game is all about measuring parcels on a weighing scale. Teaching the little ones nitty-gritties about crucial weighing tools like the weighing scale, the players need to drag the parcel on the weighing machine. Being an analogue machine, the kids need to closely monitor the weight, and enter the shown weight on the machine for the truck to move, and take the parcel. The catch in the game is that the truck will not move with the parcel till the player enters the right weight of the package.
The game has the goal of teaching students about mass, weight, and how to measure using the weighing scale. The players can also choose the appropriate standard unit from the options like gram, kilogram, liters, milliliters, and much more.
3. Rock Star Ruler Measurement
In this game, the twigs who are the rockstars need to be measured using the scale given! The players need to answer questions like ‘which band member is 3ft. Tall?’
To confuse the players, and test their ability, the game also asks questions like ‘which band member is 4ft. Taller than the fifth member?’ The players need to click on the band member whom they think is the right answer. Each correct answer gives you one point, and the goal is to collect as many points as possible.
This game allows students to understand the concept of measuring height, using a ruler. They become more conscious about what height is, and many more measurement-related concepts. For teachers, this can be a useful tool to evaluate the performance of the students and to test their basic ability of the concept of measurements.
4. Ordering lengths and heights
One of the easiest ways to learn the concepts of measuring is by comparing the objects with respect to their height, shape, etc. which gives a sense of idea to the kids about tall and short. Through this game, children will get to learn the basics of measurement. They have to sort animals, aliens, and people from shortest to longest and longest to shortest.
Via this wacky measuring game, the kids will not only learn the concept of comparison of heights, which are crucial basics of measuring but will also learn so much about the world which will be so beneficial for their general knowledge.
5. Telling Time Game
Telling the time is crucial, and the kids must know how to do so effectively. This game would make the kids proficient in reading the clock and telling the right time. With 3 levels, this game helps children identify and complete the time pattern.
The kids need to evaluate the pattern from the first three clocks and then drag the needles of the fourth clock to complete the pattern. For example, the first clock shows the time as 11’o Clock, the second one shows 9 o’clock, and the third one is at 7 o’clock; now, the student needs to think hard and then set the clock according to the pattern. Here, the right answer would be 5 o’clock.
The player now has to move the needles of the fourth clock to set the right time. This game not only teaches students about time but also about patterns and much more. As the player moves ahead in the levels, it gets harder, as the time displayed can be as complex as 8:23, and the students also need to set the needles accordingly. However, this game can be an effective tool to teach the kids about reading the clock.
6. Sal’s Sub Shop
A great combination of being a cooking game, and a measurement game; this game asks the players to choose the size of the bread according to the customer’s demand. The player needs to choose on the basis of the scale given. For example, the customer wants the bread to be 5 ½ size. The player would have to cut the bread of the given size, and add the toppings accordingly.
For each subway made right, Sal earns 5$, and if the player chooses the wrong size or the wrong toppings, Sal loses 2$. The main goal is to collect as much money as possible. This is a great measurement game that allows the kids to enjoy the best of both worlds — cooking as well as measurements.
7. Computation Castle
This fictional game is about a royal family, which has turned into animals due to a spell of a witch. This game requires not just measurements, but other mathematical functions too, to make them humans again, which is the ultimate goal of the game.
The kids need to use their fraction skills, place value understanding as well as exponents along with measurements to answer the questions correctly and reverse the spell.
This game brushes up not just the measurement topic, but also caters to other topics which might be necessary, and might go hand in hand with measurements.
8. Weighing fruits
The game focuses on the concept of weighing measurements. This game will require you to weigh the fruits and determine which one weighs the most. As the level progresses, the levels will keep getting harder in order to determine.
Try to complete all the ten levels before time is over! You have to use the scales to determine the weight of each of the three fruits and then select the fruit that weighs the most. As the level gets higher, the number of variations of the fruit will keep increasing.
This game teaches the students basics about weighing and the various measurement indicators. It aims to clear the concepts of the students when it comes to measurements as the students are constantly juggling between grams and kilograms in this game.
9. Woodcutter’s measurement
A woodcutter needs to be extremely precise in his measurements, as one wrong measurement can spoil the whole piece, and this is what the game aims at! The player is the woodcutter in the game who has to cut logs of wood according to the given size. With one large log, he needs to cut the given number of logs, of the given measurement. For example, 4 logs of 4”, this means that the player needs to use the scale, and cut 4 logs, each of 4 inches.
This game teaches the kids about measuring, and using the scale effectively. Each correct measurement of log gives the students a few points, and the students need to aim at collecting the maximum number of points possible.
This game can be played by kids to understand more about measurements, and using the scale to determine the size of the logs. Moreover, it can also be used by teachers and parents to test the understanding of their little learners.
Conclusion
The concept of Measurements can make children feel overwhelmed and confused most of the time. With so many measuring units like grams, KGs, Litres, MLs, CMs, and Metres, the kids can for sure be perplexed. However, these games can come to the rescue as playing them can help students relate this concept of measurement with real-life instances. Just like by playing games related to weighing vegetables and fruits, kids can understand and learn more about measuring tools, and about the units of measurement.
We hope these games will make measurements lessons fun and kids are able to grasp and retain the topics easily and smoothly!
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,