Math  /  3rd Grade  /  Unit 7: Measurement

Measurement

Students explore measurement using kilograms, grams, liters, milliliters, and intervals of time in minutes.

Math

Unit 7

3rd Grade

Unit Summary

In Unit 7, 3rd grade 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 2nd grade (2.MD.7) to tell and write time to the nearest minute using analog and digital clocks (3.MD.1). Students relate the face of an analog clock and time measurement more generally to the number line. Just as students used a number line to represent sums and differences in 2nd grade (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 2nd grade (2.MD.3), students in 3rd grade 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 2nd grade (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 4th grade (4.MD.1) and from a smaller unit to a larger one in 5th grade (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 Grades 4 and 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 understanding of the unit content and action plan for future units.

Expanded Assessment Package

Use student data to drive instruction with an expanded suite of assessments. Unlock Pre-Unit and Mid-Unit Assessments, and detailed Assessment Analysis Guides to help assess foundational skills, progress with unit content, and help inform your planning.

Unit Prep

Intellectual Prep

Unit Launch

Before you teach this unit, unpack the standards, big ideas, and connections to prior and future content through our guided intellectual preparation process. Each Unit Launch includes a series of short videos, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning to ensure you're prepared to support every student.

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

  • “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

Unit Vocabulary

gram

kilogram

liter

liquid volume

mass

milliliter

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

Materials

  • 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

Help students strengthen their application and fluency skills with daily word problem practice and content-aligned fluency activities.

Lesson Map

Topic A: Time Measurement

Topic B: Mass and Liquid Volume Measurement

Common Core Standards

Key

Major Cluster

Supporting Cluster

Additional Cluster

Core Standards

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.

Foundational Standards

Measurement and Data

  • 2.MD.A.1
  • 2.MD.A.3
  • 2.MD.B.6
  • 2.MD.C.7

Future Standards

Measurement and Data

  • 4.MD.A.1
  • 4.MD.A.2

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.

Read Next

Measurement
Lesson 1
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