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Measurement Worksheets: Length with Cubes and Paper Clips

11 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Length pages for 1st grade: order three things by length or height, compare with clues, measure with cubes and paper clips, and spot gaps and overlaps.

Download the measurement worksheets

Order and compare lengths

Measure with cubes

Measure with paper clips

Measure the right way

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these measurement worksheets

First graders measure length by laying copies of a small unit, like cubes or paper clips, end to end. They also order three things by length and learn to compare two things by using a third.

These pages start with comparing: order by length and order by height, with everything lined up at the same start line, and clue puzzles that use one thing to compare two others. Then children measure with cubes and paper clips, check whether units are laid the right way, draw lines a given number of cubes long, and find how many cubes longer one thing is than another.

Every object is drawn exactly a whole number of units long, so the cut-out cube strip and paper clip ruler measure the pictures exactly at 100% print size. Each cut-out page has a no-cut twin with the units drawn in. A Paper Clip Hunt sends children off to measure real things at home or in class.

Standards

  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.1Order three objects by length; compare the lengths of two objects indirectly by using a third object.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.A.2Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps. Limit to contexts where the object being measured is spanned by a whole number of length units with no gaps or overlaps.

How to use them

  1. Start with real objects: line up three pencils at the edge of a table and ask which is longest. Then do the order pages.
  2. Before measuring, show the three rules: start at the start line, no gaps, no overlaps. "Measure the Right Way" practices exactly that.
  3. For the cut-out pages, print at actual size (100%, not "fit to page") so the strips match the pictures.
  4. Ask, "Would the answer change if we used paper clips instead of cubes?" Bigger units mean fewer of them.
  5. Do the Paper Clip Hunt with real clips. Guessing first and then measuring builds a sense of length.

Teaching tips

  • Children often count the units under a thing without checking that the first unit starts at the end. Have them put a finger on the start line first.
  • If the count is off by one, check for a gap or an overlap.
  • For order by height, everything stands on the same line, so look only at the tops.
  • Clue puzzles are logic, not looking: if the giraffe is taller than the horse and the horse is taller than the dog, the giraffe is taller than the dog.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What measurement do 1st graders learn?

First graders order three objects by length, compare two lengths by using a third object, and measure length with small units like cubes or paper clips laid end to end with no gaps or overlaps. Rulers with inches come in 2nd grade.

Why measure with cubes and paper clips instead of a ruler?

Laying units end to end shows what length really is: how many same-size units fit along a thing. That understanding makes rulers make sense later.

Do the cut-out strips match the pictures?

Yes, when you print at actual size (100%). Each object is drawn an exact number of cubes or paper clips long, on both US Letter and A4.

Do I need to cut anything?

Only on the cut-out pages, and each has a twin with the cubes or paper clips already drawn under each object, so children who can't cut can do the same work.

Do the measurement worksheets have answer keys?

Yes. Every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2. The Paper Clip Hunt measures real things, so it has no key.