LESSON PLAN
MEASURE MASS AND VOLUME (METRIC)
GRADES 3-5
SUMMARY
Students are introduced to the standard units gram (g) and kilogram (kg) for measuring mass and the standard units liter
(l) and milliliter (ml) for measuring volume. They use addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division to solve one-step
word problems involving mass or volume.
COMMON CORE STANDARD(S)
3.MD.A.2 Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg),
and liters (l). Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes
that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to
represent the problem.
DURATION
Two 45-minute classroom periods
Engage and Explore, Explain, Elaborate page 1—one 45-minute classroom period
Elaborate page 2, Evaluate—second 45-minute classroom period
MATERIALS
centimeter ruler (1 per pair of students)
ENGAGE AND EXPLORE
Tell students that today they are going to learn more about measurement. Lead a discussion with students to activate
any prior experience they have with measuring and measurement.
Ask students to help you define measuring. Have students explain times in their life when they had to measure to
complete a task, such as measuring ingredients for a recipe or measuring the length of wood to build a treehouse. Ask
students if they remember the units that they used when measuring.
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Choose two or three objects around your classroom and have students list different properties of those objects that they
could measure, such as weight/mass, length, and capacity.
Ask students to discuss in partners why knowing the exact measurement of an object would be important. Have them
present examples to the class. Encourage students to think about precision and in what circumstances precision is
important, such as in scientific applications.
Display a centimeter ruler. Have a student volunteer measure the length of an object in centimeters using a centimeter
ruler. Point out how you line the object up with 0 and how you read the measurement.
Then tell students that they are going to work with a partner to measure the length of five objects in centimeters.
Write the following list on the board: pencil, shoe, thumb, Object 1 of your choice, Object 2 of your choice.
Give each pair of students a centimeter ruler. Have them measure the length of each object listed on the board and
record the measurements in their notebooks. Let them know that the last two objects can be objects of their own
choosing. As students are doing this measuring activity, circulate around the room making sure they are doing the
activity correctly, lining one end of the object up at 0 on the ruler and reading the measurement correctly. Have students
record the results of this activity in their notebooks and then share their results with the rest of the class in a group
discussion. Let them know that today they are going to continue their study of measurement using the metric system. In
the video they are about to see, they will learn how to measure mass and liquid volume with metric units of measure.
EXPLAIN
WATCH THE GENERATION GENIUS MEASURE MASS AND
VOLUME (METRIC) VIDEO AS A GROUP
Facilitate a conversation using the Discussion Questions.
ELABORATE
Direct students to use their new understanding to complete the practice problem worksheets. Page 1 contains bare
mathematical problems to solidify understanding of the process. Page 2 contains application problems for students to
apply the process to solve real-world problems.
EVALUATE
Have students gather in groups of 2 or 4 to compare and discuss their answers to the problems. Allow students
enough time to communicate with their peers about their process and their thinking. Encourage students to use
correct mathematical language when discussing their process. Have each group choose two questions they want more
information about, or they want to discuss as a class.
When groups are ready, take questions from students. Encourage groups to answer questions brought up by other
groups.
Students can play the online Kahoot! quiz game located below the video. It provides downloadable scores at the end
of the quiz game. Alternatively, you can use the paper quiz, or the exit ticket questions. All these resources are located
below the video in the assessment section.
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