Estimating Length

Second Grade Math

by Ginger Bruster July 9, 2015

Advance your students from relative measurements to learning about standardized units with this lesson that
teaches them about inches and feet by using common classroom objects.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to measure and estimate lengths using inches and feet.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Class set of the Estimating Length 1 worksheet inches

Class set of the Estimating Length 2 worksheet foot
Rulers estimation
Pencils
Paper

Attachments

Estimating Length 1 (PDF)

Estimating Length 2 (PDF)
Estimate Length (PDF)
Estimating Length (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Explain to the students that today they will be measuring objects in the classroom.
Hold up a ruler and ask students, "What is this?" Allow students a minute to think-pair-share their
answers.
Clarify that the object is a ruler and it is used to measure objects in inches, a unit of measurement equal
to 2.54 cm or about the diameter of a quarter, and feet, a unit of measurement equal to 12 inches or
about the height of a folder.
Tell the students that sometimes, instead of using a ruler to measure objects, they can estimate instead.
EL

Beginning

Give students two sticky notes labeled "inches" and "feet." Have students place the sticky notes on one
object in the classroom they could measure using inches and another object in the classroom they could
measure using feet.
Allow students to answer using their home language (L1) with a peer who speaks the same L1.

Intermediate

Ask students to think of an object in the classroom that is about an inch and another object in the
classroom that is about one foot. Provide sentence stems for them to use as they share out their
answers:

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 ____ is about an inch long.
____ is about a foot long.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (5 minutes)

Show the students a coffee cup. Say, "I'm wondering if this coffee cup is closer to 5 inches or 5 feet tall?
How can I figure this out?"
Allow a few students to share out their ideas. Clarify that the coffee cup is pretty small, so it's most likely
closer to 5 inches than it is to 5 feet. Tell the students that by using their knowledge to figure out that the
coffee cup is closer to 5 inches, they are estimating because they aren't actually measuring the coffee
cup.
Choose a few things in the classroom and ask similar questions using inches and feet.
EL

Beginning

Make lines on the whiteboard that represent a foot and an inch using a ruler.
Allow students to point to the lines on the whiteboard to show their understanding of which unit of
measurement they would use. Provide sentence frames, such as:
I would use ____ (inches/feet) because ____.

Intermediate

Encourage students to share out their ideas by providing them with sentence frames for support:
The ____ is closer to ____ because ____. I know this because ____.

Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Put students in partnerships and provide each pair with a pencil and folder. Reiterate that when we
estimate we use information we already know to make an informed decision about the size or amount of
something.
Ask students to look at the pencils. Say, "I want you to think about if this pencil will be more or less than
12 inches, or 1 foot long." Give students time to discuss their ideas in partnerships. Allow a few
partnerships to share out their ideas.
Continue the process with the folder and then the student's desk.
Explain to the students that next they will complete a worksheet that asks them to estimate objects and
determine if they would be closer to a certain amount of feet or inches.
EL

Beginning

Encourage students to refer to the lines on the whiteboard that represent each unit of measurement to
support their understanding.
Have students work in a partnership with a peer who speaks the same home language (L1), if possible.

Intermediate

Ask students to share the definition of estimate in their own words.

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Instruct students to go back to their desks and pass out the Estimating Length 1 and Estimating Length 2
worksheets to each student.
Explain to the students that they will complete these worksheets independently, using their knowledge of
inches and feet to support them.
EL

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Beginning

Encourage students to orally share their answers using the same sentence frame from explicit
instruction.

Intermediate

Have students compare/contrast their answers with peers and encourage them to use the same sentence
frame from explicit instruction to deepen their response.

Related books and/or media

Find interactive books for each child’s level.

Differentiation

Enrichment: Encourage students to estimate the length of the classroom in feet if time allows.

Support: Allow students to work in partnerships during independent working time.

Assessment (5 minutes)

Rotate around the classroom as students are finishing their worksheets and provide feedback and
support as necessary.
Collect student work and use their samples to assess understanding of inches, feet, and estimation.
EL

Beginning

Have students explain how they know what unit of measurement to use, based on their understanding of
inches and feet.
Provide sentence stems, such as:
I measure ____ (small/big) things using ____ (inches/feet).

Intermediate

Ask students to provide an example of an object in the classroom they could measure using inches or
feet. Encourage them to justify their reasoning.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

Write the following words on the whiteboard: estimate, feet, inches, measurement.
Ask students to turn and talk to a partner, explaining what one of the words means in their own words.
EL

Beginning

Allow students to use pictures, gestures, and movement to define the vocabulary words.

Intermediate

Instruct students to repeat their partner's definition in their own words.

Challenge them to add on to their partner's definition to provide more clarification.

Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/

 Estimating Length
Estimate the length of each object.
Circle the answer that gives the best estimate.
**Remember: 1 foot = 12 inches

6 feet 6 inches 3 feet 3 inches

2 feet 2 inches 15 feet 15 inches

5 feet 5 inches 4 feet 4 inches

Copyright © 2013-2014 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 Estimating Length
Estimate the length of each object.
Circle the answer that gives the best estimate.

1 foot 1 inch 7 feet 7 inches

3 feet 3 inches 10 feet 10 inches

5 feet 5 inches 4 feet 4 inches

Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets
 Estimating Length
Estimate the length of each object.
Circle the answer that gives the best estimate.
**Remember: 1 foot = 12 inches

6 feet 6 inches 3 feet 3 inches

2 feet 2 inches 15 feet 15 inches

5 feet 5 inches 4 feet 4 inches

Find worksheets, games,

Copyright © 2013-2014 by Education.com More lessons & more
worksheets at education.com/resources
at www.education.com/worksheets
© 2007 - 2019 Education.com
 Estimating Length
Estimate the length of each object.
Circle the answer that gives the best estimate.

1 foot 1 inch 7 feet 7 inches

3 feet 3 inches 10 feet 10 inches

5 feet 5 inches 4 feet 4 inches

Created by :
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets