3rd Grade Mathematics | Measurement

Unit Summary

In Unit 7, students solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects. The unit, while major work itself, also “support[s] the Grade 3 emphasis on multiplication and the mathematical practices of making sense of problems (MP.1) and representing them with equations, drawings, or diagrams (MP.4)” (GM Progression, p. 18).

Students begin by building on their understanding of telling time to the nearest five minutes from Grade 2 (2.MD.7) to tell and write time to the nearest minute using analog and digital clocks (3.MD.1). Students see that an analog clock is a portion of the number line shaped into a circle. Just as students used a number line to represent sums and differences in Grade 2 (2.MD.6), students use the number line to represent addition and subtraction problems involving elapsed time in minutes and durations of time (3.MD.1).

Building on the estimation skills with length gained in Grade 2 (2.MD.3), students in Grade 3 use the metric units of kilograms, grams, liters, and milliliters to estimate the masses and liquid volumes of familiar objects (3.MD.2). Students also measure objects in those units, reading the measurement scales on analog tools such as beakers. Finally, just as students solved word problems involving lengths in Grade 2 (2.MD.5), students solve word problems involving masses or volumes given in the same metric units (3.MD.2).

Students will rely on the work of this unit to convert from a larger unit to a smaller unit in Grade 4 (4.MD.1) and from a smaller unit to a larger one in Grade 5 (5.MD.1), as well as to solve multi-step word problems involving intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals (4.MD.2, 5.MD.1). Beyond the direct connections to Grade 5 Common Core State Standards, “measurement is central to mathematics, to other areas of mathematics (e.g., laying a sensory and conceptual foundation for arithmetic with fractions), to other subject matter domains, especially science, and to activities in everyday life. For these reasons, measurement is a core component of the mathematics curriculum” (GM Progression, p. 1).

Pacing: 15 instructional days (12 lessons, 2 flex days, 1 assessment day)

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Assessment

The following assessments accompany Unit 7.

Pre-Unit

Have students complete the Pre-Unit Assessment and Pre-Unit Student Self-Assessment before starting the unit. Use the Pre-Unit Assessment Analysis Guide to identify gaps in foundational understanding and map out a plan for learning acceleration throughout the unit.

Mid-Unit

Have students complete the Mid-Unit Assessment after lesson 6.

Post-Unit

Use the resources below to assess student mastery of the unit content and action plan for future units.

Expanded Assessment Package

Use student data to drive your planning with an expanded suite of unit assessments to help gauge students’ facility with foundational skills and concepts, as well as their progress with unit content.

Unit Prep

Intellectual Prep

Suggestions for how to prepare to teach this unit

Intellectual Prep for All Units

Read and annotate “Unit Summary” and “Essential Understandings” portion of the unit plan.
Do all the Target Tasks and annotate them with the “Unit Summary” and “Essential Understandings” in mind.
Take the Post-Unit Assessment.

Essential Understandings

The central mathematical concepts that students will come to understand in this unit

“An open number line can be a useful tool to help students visualize and organize [information regarding elapsed time situations]. In order to do this effectively, students must be able to decompose time into strategic chunks” (Dajuana's Homework, Illustrative Mathematics).
Mass and liquid volume measurements are often shown on a measurement scale that is similar to a number line.

Vocabulary

Terms and notation that students learn or use in the unit

gram

kilogram

liquid volume

liter

mass

millimeter

To see all the vocabulary for Unit 7, view our 3rd Grade Vocabulary Glossary.

Materials

The materials, representations, and tools teachers and students will need for this unit

Containers with the capacity of 1 quart, 1 pint, .5 liter, and quarter teaspoon (1 per small group) — See Lesson 10 Anchor Task 1 Notes for alternate material suggestions.
1-liter plastic bottle (1 per small group) — Students can use any container with a capacity of about 1 liter. See Lesson 10 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Medicine/water dropper (1 per small group) — Students can use any container with a capacity of about 1 milliliter. See Lesson 10 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Optional: Demonstration analog clock (1 per teacher) — This is optional. See Lesson 1 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Containers of various capacities, including containers close to the benchmark capacities of 1 milliliter and 1 liter (About 12 per class) — See Lesson 10 Tips for Teachers for ideas.
Water (About 3 liters per small group) — See Lesson 10 Anchor Task 1 Notes for alternate material suggestions.
1L beaker (1 or more per class) — See Lesson 11 Tips for Teachers for more information.
100 mL graduated cylinder (1 or more per class) — See Lesson 11 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Balance scale (1 or more per class) — See Lesson 7 Anchor Task 2 Notes for alternate material suggestions.
Counters (100 per small group) — See Lesson 7 Anchor Task 2 Notes for alternate material suggestions.
Thumbtacks, textbooks, scissors, and rulers (1 per small group) — See Lesson 7 Anchor Task 1 Notes for alternate material suggestions.
Paper clips (1 per small group) — Students can use any other object with a mass of about 1 gram. See Lesson 7 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Dictionaries (1 per small group) — Students can use any other object with a mass of about 1 kilogram. See Lesson 7 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Objects of various masses, including objects close to the benchmark masses of 1 gram, 10 grams, 100 grams, and 1 kilogram (About 12 per class) — See Lesson 7 Tips for Teachers for ideas.
Analog scale (1 or more per class) — These need to measure in grams/kilograms. See Lesson 8 Tips for Teachers for more information.
Digital scale (1 or more per class) — See Lesson 8 Tips for Teachers for more information.

Unit Practice

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Access daily word problem practice and our content-aligned fluency activities created to help students strengthen their application and fluency skills.

Lesson Map

Topic A: Time Measurement

1

Tell time to the nearest minute.

3.MD.A.1

2

Tell time to the minute before the hour.

3.MD.A.1

3

Relate clocks to number lines.

3.MD.A.1

4

Solve word problems involving elapsed time within the same hour.

3.MD.A.1

5

Solve word problems involving elapsed time that involves crossing the hour mark.

3.MD.A.1

6

Solve word problems involving all cases of elapsed time in minutes.

3.MD.A.1

Topic B: Mass and Liquid Volume Measurement

7

Understand mass as an attribute of objects that is measured in grams and kilograms. Develop benchmarks for 1 kilogram and 1 gram.

3.MD.A.2

8

Estimate and measure mass in grams and kilograms by reading a measurement scale on an analog scale or other scale.

3.MD.A.2

9

Solve word problems involving masses given in the same unit.

3.MD.A.2

10

Understand liquid volume as an attribute of objects that is measured in liters and milliliters. Develop benchmarks for 1 liter and 1 milliliter.

3.MD.A.2

11

Estimate and measure liquid volume in liters and milliliters by reading the measurement scale on a beaker or other container.

3.MD.A.2

12

Solve word problems involving volumes given in the same unit.

3.MD.A.2

Common Core Standards

Key

Major Cluster

Supporting Cluster

Additional Cluster

Core Standards

The content standards covered in this unit

Measurement and Data

3.MD.A.1 — Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.

Measurement and Data

3.MD.A.1 — Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.
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. Excludes multiplicative comparison problems (problems involving notions of "times as much"; Excludes compound units such as cm³ and finding the geometric volume of a container.

Measurement and Data

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. Excludes multiplicative comparison problems (problems involving notions of "times as much"; Excludes compound units such as cm³ and finding the geometric volume of a container.

Foundational Standards

Standards covered in previous units or grades that are important background for the current unit

Measurement and Data

2.MD.A.1

Measurement and Data

2.MD.A.1 — Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
2.MD.A.3

Measurement and Data

2.MD.A.3 — Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.
2.MD.B.6

Measurement and Data

2.MD.B.6 — Represent whole numbers as lengths from 0 on a number line diagram with equally spaced points corresponding to the numbers 0, 1, 2, …, and represent whole-number sums and differences within 100 on a number line diagram.
2.MD.C.7

Measurement and Data

2.MD.C.7 — Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.

Future Standards

Standards in future grades or units that connect to the content in this unit

Measurement and Data

4.MD.A.1

Measurement and Data

4.MD.A.1 — Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two column table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36), …
4.MD.A.2

Measurement and Data

4.MD.A.2 — Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 — Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 — Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 — Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 — Model with mathematics.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP5 — Use appropriate tools strategically.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP6 — Attend to precision.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP7 — Look for and make use of structure.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP8 — Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.