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Select and use appropriate tools to measure the length of an object, the volume of liquid within a beaker and temperature.
Standard #: MA.3.M.1.1
Standard Information
Standard Clarifications
Clarification 1: Instruction focuses on identifying measurement on a linear scale, making the connection to the number line.

Clarification 2: When measuring the length, limited to the nearest centimeter and half or quarter inch.

Clarification 3: When measuring the temperature, limited to the nearest degree.

Clarification 4: When measuring the volume of liquid, limited to nearest milliliter and half or quarter cup.

General Information
Subject Area: Mathematics (B.E.S.T.)
Grade: 3
Strand: Measurement
Standard: Measure attributes of objects and solve problems involving measurement.
Date Adopted or Revised: 08/20
Status: State Board Approved
Standard Instructional Guide

Connecting Benchmarks/Horizontal Alignment

 

Terms from the K-12 Glossary

  • NA

 

Vertical Alignment

Previous Benchmarks

 

Next Benchmarks

 

Purpose and Instructional Strategies

The purpose of this benchmark is for students to choose appropriate tools to measure length, liquid volume, and temperature. In Grade 3, students continue to build their understanding of measuring lengths from Grades 1 and 2. In Grade 3, they also measure liquid volume and temperature. 
  • Instruction should connect students’ understandings about number lines and rulers to tools that measure liquid volume and temperature. This will help students make sense of measuring units (including half and quarter) with different tools (MTR.1.1, MTR.2.1). 
  • Instruction includes having students measure liquid volume with different scientific beakers and glass measuring cups so that both metric and customary units are used.
  • Connecting instruction of this benchmark with MA.3.M.1.2 will allow for students to choose appropriate tools when given problems in real-world contexts.
  • Instruction should model and allow students to interact with hands-on activities to choose tools and measure appropriately.

 

Common Misconceptions or Errors

  • Students who struggle to identify benchmarks on number lines can also struggle to measure units of length, liquid volume, and temperature. To assist students, teachers should allow students to measure often and provide feedback. Students can also complete error and reasoning analysis activities to identify this common measurement difficulty.

 

Strategies to Support Tiered Instruction

  • Instruction includes opportunities to measure often and provide feedback. Use error and reasoning analysis activities to address common measurement difficulties. Error analysis activities can feature both computational and conceptual errors. When presenting an error analysis activity during instruction, teachers can indicate to students that an error is present. From there, the students can identify the error and make recommendations to coach through the error so that it is not made again. Errors can be student- or teacher-generated, the latter of which allows for the teacher to show a specific skill or conceptual issue to the student in a purposeful way. Student-generated errors shown anonymously support a safe environment. 
  • Instruction includes opportunities to find the locations of points on number lines. Number lines should be represented vertically and horizontally. Instruction includes whole number values and fractions, including fractions greater than one. 
    • For example, number lines may be included with benchmarks instead of every number in the sequence included. The blue line below extends from the 0 mark on the number line to the first hashmark beyond 2. The dot plotted on the number line identifies the end of the blue line. Since each whole number interval is partitioned into four equal parts, the first hashmark beyond 2 is represented as 214. 

points on number lines

    • For example, number lines can also have all numbers included to represent the values between the benchmarks.

points on number line

 

Instructional Tasks

Instructional Task 1 

Jonah measures the length of his pencil.

pencil and ruler

  • Part A. What is the length of his pencil, in inches? 
  • Part B. Why is a ruler an appropriate tool for Jonah to measure the pencil’s length?

 

Instructional Task 2 

Thermometers

 

  • Use the thermometers above to help you answer the questions. All temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
  • Part A. What is the temperature on the red thermometer?
  • Part B. Naomi says that the temperature on the red thermometer is higher than the total temperature of the blue thermometer and the yellow thermometer. Is she correct? How do you know?
  • Part C. Santiago said that he found the sum of the three temperatures and that it was less than 70°. Do you agree with him? Why or why not.

 

 

Instructional Task 2

Four containers with a blue liquid

 

  • Four containers are shown holding a blue liquid. Each liquid is measured in milliliters. Demitri says that the flask on the right (Container D) is holding the most liquid. Briana says the graduated cylinder (Container C) is holding the most liquid.
  • Part A. Which student is correct? Explain.
  • Part B. What measuring mistake do you think the other student made? Explain.
  • Part C. Order the containers by the amount of liquid they hold in ascending order.

 

Instructional Items

Instructional Item 1 

  • Gina and Maurice have same-sized containers filled with different amounts of water, as shown. Gina’s container has 4 liters (L) of water. About how much water, in liters (L), does Maurice’s container have? 

same-sized containers filled with different amounts of water

Instructional Item 2

  • Jillian is using an old measuring cup and some of the numbers can no longer be read. What is the missing value that shows the approximate measurement of liquid. 

measuring cup with a liquid

Instructional Item 3

  • Monica brought home a young bearded dragon. How many centimeters long is her bearded dragon?

picture of a bearded dragon

 

 

Instructional Item 4

Thermometer

  • The thermometer shows the temperature of the liquid inside a graduated cylinder. What is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit?

 

*The strategies, tasks and items included in the B1G-M are examples and should not be considered comprehensive.
Related Courses
Related Access Points
  • MA.3.M.1.AP.1a # Select and use appropriate tools to measure the length (i.e., inches, feet, yards) of an object.
  • MA.3.M.1.AP.1b # Explore selecting and using appropriate tools to measure liquid volume (i.e., gallons, quarts, pints, cups) and temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
Related Resources
Formative Assessments
Lesson Plans
  • Representing Symbols Using Perimeter and Area # In this integrated lesson, students will create Uncle Sam cards encouraging responsible citizenship, find the dimensions of their card, and then use measurement, addition, and multiplication to solve a real-world task requiring calculation of perimeter and area of a larger space to display all of the student-created Uncle Sam cards.
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 1 Observations # Students learn that making observations is an important aspect of scientific study. Students will review concepts about water by making observations based on different properties and states of matter of water. Students will also review how to measure volume, mass and temperature as they will use these skills throughout the unit. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit  https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 12 Engineering Design Problem: Beat the Heat Part 3: Testing a Cooler # In this engineering design problem, students will have the opportunity to apply what they
    learned about the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and
    cooling by designing their own cooler. Students will be asked to use the engineering design
    process to design a cooler that will reduce the melting of frozen water in hot temperatures
    at the beach. Students will need to design and build their cooler, test their materials, and
    justify their design decisions. In this lesson students will test their cooler’s effectiveness in
    keeping ice from melting. In subsequent lessons students will improve their designs. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.  
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 10 Engineering Design Problem: Beat the Heat Part 1: Design a Cooler # In this engineering design problem, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling by designing their own cooler. Students will be asked to use the engineering design process to design a cooler that will reduce the melting of frozen water in hot temperatures at the beach. Students will need to design and build their cooler, test their materials, and justify their design decisions. This lesson is the first of several lessons based on engineering design; in subsequent lessons, students will build and test their designs with ice. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.  .
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 5 Evaporation Experiment # Students set up an experiment and gather data to investigate the evaporation of water. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit ofSaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx. .
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 4 Melting Experiment # Students set up an experiment and gather data to investigate the melting of solid water. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit ofSaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx. .
  • Marshmallow Mania # After experiencing measuring objects to the nearest one-fourth inch, students are given diagrams of the results from using different colors of paper to cook marshmallows in a solar oven. Students measure diagrams' lengths to the nearest quarter inch and record the data on a line plot. Next students determine which color showed evidence of the melted marshmallows' lengths closest to the ideal 2begin mathsize 10px style 1 half end styleinches and use this information to make a proposal to a fictional company for the best color to use in their solar ovens for s'more making.
  • Watch Me Sprout...Watch Me Grow, Grow! # During this engineering design challenge, students will create a container to help a local nursery grow sunflowers efficiently. Students will use their knowledge of plant growth to develop a strategy and choose which materials would be best for their sunflower's growth.
  • Terrarium # In this lesson plan students are challenged with building a self-sufficient terrarium.
  • Response to the Cues # This is a design challenge that requires students to cooperatively create a plant terrarium through the process of asking questions, imagining what the design would look like, planning the design, creating the design, testing the design, improving the design, and finally testing their redesign.
  • Zoom, Zoom, Vroom Vroom! # In this lesson, students will explore forces, mechanical energy by engineering their own vehicles utilizing via the engineering design process.
  • Let's Go, H2O! # This STEM challenge will engage 3rd grade students in thinking about the ways that a drought can affect a region or nation and how to find a solution to this problem. Students will construct a pipeline to transport water from point A to point B while overcoming gravity and will measure the volume of liquid before and after it travels through the pipeline. This STEM challenge combines architectural engineering with life science and mathematical measurement skills.
  • Is that Estimate Correct? # In this lesson, students will estimate water volume in three containers and record observations. Following estimations, students will directly measure the volumes using an appropriate method. After comparing those measurements to the estimates, students will be given a known volume of water and will be asked to divide the water into three predetermined volumes, again using estimation skills. A following measurement will be used to determine the difference between their volume estimate and the actual measured volume as distributed across three vessels.
  • Measuring Matters! # This lesson allows students to generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. The lesson promotes the understanding of units of measure that will provide the foundation for further study in math and science.
  • How Far Does It Roll? # In this lesson, students will roll ping pong balls down a ramp and record whole-number measurements for the roll distance.  Students will represent this data by creating a line plot.
  • Magnified Inches # This lesson provides a parallel between fraction strips (something students should be familiar with) and measuring length with a ruler past one inch including quarters. This lesson is the follow-up to The Magnified Inch, Resource ID 46593.
  • The Magnified Inch # This lesson provides a parallel between fraction strips (something students should be familiar with) and measuring with a ruler up to an inch including quarters.
Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lessons
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 15 Beat the Heat MEA Part 2: Cooler Experiment # In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
    the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
    is divided into four parts. In part 1, students will develop their hypothesis and receive
    information on how to set up the cooler experiment. In part 2, students will use ice to test
    the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons. Students will take
    measurements and collect data on their cooler. In part 3, students will analyze the data
    they collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting the most
    effective cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. In the optional twist,
    students will need to take the mass of the cooler into account. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 16 Beat the Heat MEA Part 3: Analyzing Cooler Data # In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
    the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
    is divided into four parts. In part 1, students will develop their hypothesis and receive
    information on how to set up the cooler experiment. In part 2, students will be asked to use
    ice to test the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons.
    Students will take measurements and collect data on their cooler. In Part 3 of this activity,
    students will analyze the data they collected in Part 2 by drawing and interpreting a scaled
    bar graph and line graph. Students will participate in a discussion about how to interpret the
    data that was collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting the best
    cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. In the optional twist, students will
    need to take the mass of the cooler into account. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 17 Beat the Heat MEA Part 4: Ranking Procedure # In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
    the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
    is divided into four parts. In part 1, students will develop their hypothesis and receive
    information on how to set up the cooler experiment. In part 2, students will be asked to use
    ice to test the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons.
    Students will take measurements and collect data on their cooler. In part 3, students will
    analyze the data they collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting
    the best cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. They will communicate their
    findings and procedure via a letter to next year’s class. In the optional twist, students will
    need to take the mass of the cooler into account. This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 9 Cool Cooler Design Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA) #

    In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
    the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. Students
    will be asked to rank coolers based on data to solve an open-ended, realistic problem, while
    considering constraints and tradeoffs. In the optional twist, students will need to take the
    mass of the cooler into account.

    This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit ofSaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation.  To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.

     

Original Student Tutorials
  • Devin in the Bakery Part 3: Chef-tastrophy # Practice measuring the mass of solids and liquids using a pan balance and triple beam balance as Devin helps Chef Kyle in the bakery with this interactive tutorial.
  • Maxine in the Lab Part 3: Mystery Mix-Up # Help Maxine and Dr Felix solve the mystery of the mixed-up samples using their color observations and volume measurements from Parts 1 and 2 in this interactive tutorial. This is part three in a 3-part series.
  • Maxine in the Lab Part 2: Volume of Solids # Help Maxine and Dr Felix measure and compare the volume of solids using the displacement method with a graduated cylinder in this interactive tutorial. This is part two in a 3-part series.
  • Maxine in the Lab Part 1: Volume of Liquids # Help Maxine and Dr Felix measure the volume of liquids with this interactive tutorial. This is part one in a 3-part series.
  • Devin in the Bakery Part 2: Measuring Mass of Liquids # Learn how to measure the mass of liquids (and some solids) using containers while Devin helps Chef Kyle in the bakery with this interactive tutorial.
  • Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 17 Video # This SaM-1 video provides the students with the optional "twist" for Lesson 17 and the Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) they have been working on in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation.    To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.
  • Lesson 21 Video: MEA Entertaining Animals Part 2 # In this video, SaM-1 introduces a part 2 twist to the Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) challenge. In the optional twist, students will need to design a prototype toy suitable for a Florida panther with an injured leg. This first video provides background information on why and how animals need to be entertained.
  • Lesson 21 Video: MEA Entertaining Animals # In this video, SaM-1 introduces a Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) challenge for the students. This video provides background information on why and how animals need to be entertained. Students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about physical properties and measuring linear lengths as they are asked to design a prototype toy for Florida panthers housed at the CPALMS Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. In the optional twist, students will need to design a prototype toy suitable for a Florida panther with an injured leg. The optional twist also has a SaM-1 video to introduce the twist challenge.
  • Lesson 20 Video MEA Animal Habitats Part 2 # In this video, SaM-1 introduces a part 2 twist to the Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) challenge. In the first video, students were asked to design a habitat for an elephant or gorilla that will be housed at the CPALMS Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. In this twist, students will need to modify their design to accommodate a senior elephant or gorilla.
  • Lesson 20 Video: MEA Animal Habitats # In this video, SaM-1 introduces a Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) challenge for the students. This video provides habitat information to help the students use the knowledge they gained throughout the unit. Students are asked to design a habitat for an elephant or gorilla that will be housed at the CPALMS Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. Students will need to describe the physical properties (color, shape, texture, hardness) of the features they selected for the habitat while explaining the rationale behind their design choices. In the optional twist, students will need to modify their design to accommodate a senior elephant or gorilla. The optional twist also has a SaM-1 video to introduce the twist challenge.
  • Lesson 11 Video: Introduction to Volume # In this SaM-1 video, students will learn how to use a graduated cylinder to make observations based on the volume of liquids.
  • Lesson 3 Video: Introduction to Length # In this video, students will make observations based on the property of size, specifically length. Students will learn about the metric and customary measurement systems and use line plots to organize and sort data.
Problem-Solving Tasks
  • Growing Bean Plants # This task adds some rigor to the activity, by collecting actual growth data, providing practice for students in measuring and recording length measurements. Centimeters are an appropriate unit for these measurements, as they provide a good level of precision for these measurements, while being easy enough for students to handle.
  • The Longest Walk # After students have drawn and measured their ten line segments, it might be more useful for the class to discuss part (b) as a whole group. It is a good idea to have the students use color to help them keep track of the connection between a line that they have drawn and the corresponding data point on the graph.
  • Hand Span Measures # The size of the hand makes a difference in some sports that involve throwing or catching and some activities such as playing the piano. Hand span is a measure that has been used for many years. By placing the hand on the edge of a piece of paper and marking the tips of the thumb and little finger, the student can measure a straight line. This is a better method than placing the hand directly on the ruler. Discuss rounding conventions. This could be used as a class activity, or students could gather and plot data on separate line plots from different age groups.
Professional Development
  • What Does It Mean To Measure? # This is a professional development session from the Learning Math series from Annenberg. Learners will begin to explore the questions "What can be measured?" and "What does it mean to measure something?" Learners identify measurable properties of objects such as weight, surface area, and volume, and discuss which metric units are appropriate for measuring these properties. Learners will also learn that measurement is, by its nature, approximate. Finally, learners will consider how to make measurements using nonstandard units. This session features a number of problems for learners to solve and open-ended questions to discuss, videos that demonstrate measurement techniques, and an interactive activity that asks learners to construct shapes using different size triangles to foster understanding of area and perimeter. There are also nine homework problems in which learners are asked to generate different measurements, graph measurements, and evaluate the appropriateness of the measurements generated using a data chart. Many of the professional development activities can be used directly in the classroom.
MFAS Formative Assessments
Original Student Tutorials Science - Grades K-8
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