About Length Measurement
Almost every child who learns to use a ruler makes the same mistake: they line the object up with the end of the ruler rather than with the zero mark, or they count the lines instead of the spaces between them. Both produce answers that are wrong by one. This game gives repeated practice at reading the scale correctly, which is a different skill from knowing what a centimetre is.
What this game teaches
- Aligning an object with the zero mark rather than the ruler's edge
- Reading a centimetre scale accurately
- Counting intervals rather than tick marks
- Estimating a length before measuring it
- Recording a measurement with its unit
How to play
- An object appears alongside a ruler.
- Read the length where the object ends.
- Enter the measurement in centimetres.
- Three questions complete a level, across ten levels.
Before you start
A child should be able to count and read two-digit numbers. No prior measuring experience is assumed.
For teachers
Follow screen practice with a real ruler and real objects immediately - the transfer is not automatic, and children who read a screen scale correctly still misalign a physical ruler. Ask for an estimate before each measurement; children who estimate develop a sense of size, and those who only measure do not.
For parents
Measure things around the house together. A child who has measured their own foot, a spoon and a book has a feel for what ten centimetres is that no screen can provide.
Related games
- Liquid Measure — Class 3-6
- Weight Scale Game — Class 3-6
- Time Recognition Game — Class 2-5