Community helpers measurement activities that get every child excited to measure, compare and sort! This set brings 20+ hands-on measurement activities to your preschool, pre-K and kindergarten math centers, all featuring favorite community helpers like firefighters, sanitation workers and doctors.

Children measure community helpers and their tools with cubes, counters, play dough and other tools, put pictures in order from shortest to tallest, compare which items weigh more or less and sort big and small pictures. Every activity comes with picture-supported instructions to help preschoolers and kindergarteners become more independent in their center activities.

With these community helpers measurement activities, you get

• 20+ hands-on measurement activities in one community helpers theme
• Height, length, weight and size practice with familiar workers and tools
• Measurement mats for blocks, play dough or the measuring tool of your choice
• Picture-supported instructions that build independence in centers

Print, set out the cubes and let the measuring begin!

What's Included

• 2 Measure It! Sets
• 3 Play Dough Measurement Mats
• 3 Block Measurement Mats
• 3 "Tool of your choice" Measurement Mats
• 4 Shortest to Tallest Mats
• 4 Tallest to Shortest Mats
• 1 Measurement Write the Room
• 1 Comparing Weight Set
• 2 Which weighs less/more Cover It! Games
• 1 BIG/Small Sorting Mat, with firefighter pictures such as a hydrant, boots, firehouse and fire truck
• Picture-supported instructions for every activity

Why Teachers Love It

• So many ways to measure: Children measure with blocks, cubes, counters, play dough or any tool you choose.
• Builds independence: Picture-supported instructions help children work through centers with less adult help.
• A theme kids connect with: Firefighters, sanitation workers, doctors and their tools make measurement feel familiar and fun.
• Covers the big measurement ideas: Height, length, weight and size comparisons all live in one set.
• Easy to fit into your week: Rotate the mats, games and write the room activity through math centers, small groups and a community helpers unit.

Skills Students Practice

Primary Academic Skills

• Measuring length and height: Children line up cubes, counters, blocks or play dough to measure community helpers and their tools.
• Ordering by size: Shortest to tallest and tallest to shortest mats ask children to put pictures in order.
• Comparing weight: The comparing weight set and Cover It! games help children decide which item weighs more or less.
• Sorting by size: The BIG/Small sorting mat has children group pictures as big or small.
• Measurement vocabulary: Children use words such as taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, big and small as they work.
• Counting: Children count how many cubes or counters long each picture is.

Secondary Life & Learning Skills

• Following directions
• Working independently
• Maintaining attention
• Making and checking predictions
• Using mathematical language
• Taking turns

How to Use It

Step 1: Print the activities you want to use. Print on card stock and laminate the mats so they last through many centers.

Step 2: Model one activity together, such as measuring a firefighter with cubes or deciding which item weighs more. Point out the picture-supported instructions so children know what to do.

Step 3: Set the activities out in math centers or small groups. Add the write the room activity and Cover It! games through the week to keep the practice fresh.

Easy Differentiation

Children come to measurement with very different experiences. These activities are easy to adjust so every child can measure with success.

For Children Who Need More Support

• Start with the BIG/Small sorting mat before moving to measuring
• Use larger blocks so children have fewer pieces to line up
• Line up the first few cubes together and let the child finish
• Offer two pictures to compare before using a full ordering mat

For On-Level Practice

• Measure each picture with cubes, counters or play dough
• Complete the shortest to tallest and tallest to shortest mats
• Play the Which weighs less/more Cover It! games
• Do the Measurement Write the Room activity

For an Extra Challenge

• Measure the same picture with two different tools and compare the results
• Predict how many cubes long a picture is before measuring
• Explain why one item is heavier or taller than another
• Use the "Tool of your choice" mats with a new classroom object as the measuring tool

For Speech, OT, ELL or Special Education Support

• Practice community helper vocabulary such as firefighter, doctor, hydrant and fire truck
• Use short language frames such as "The ___ is taller."
• Use play dough mats to build hand strength while measuring
• Point to the picture-supported instructions and model each step
• Give extra processing time before children compare

Perfect For

• Preschool and pre-K math centers
• Kindergarten math centers
• Community helpers theme units
• Small groups
• Intervention
• Special education classrooms
• Homeschool preschool
• Substitute plans

Standards

These measurement activities support the 2022 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and Virginia's Early Learning and Development Standards (2021), and they build toward kindergarten measurement skills in Common Core, the TEKS (Math, adopted 2012) and the Virginia Math SOL (2023):

Common Core State Standards

• CCSS K.MD.A.1: Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.
• CCSS K.MD.A.2: Directly compare two objects to see which has more or less of an attribute, such as which is taller or heavier.

Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines

• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.D.1: Recognize and compare heights or lengths of people or objects. Children measure community helpers and order them from shortest to tallest.
• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.D.3: Recognize and compare weights of objects with the comparing weight set and Cover It! games.
• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.E.1: Sort objects that are the same and different, such as big and small firefighter pictures.

Texas TEKS

• TEKS Math K.7.A: Give an example of a measurable attribute of an object, including length and weight.
• TEKS Math K.7.B: Compare two objects with a common measurable attribute and describe the difference.

Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards

• Virginia ELDS CD3.5: Describe and compare objects by size and weight.

Virginia SOL

• VA SOL Math K.MG.1: Use direct comparisons to compare heights and weights using terms such as taller, shorter, heavier and lighter.

Check out what other educators are saying:

★★★★★ Tracy A. wrote: “My class was able to grasp the concept being taught better using this activity!! Great activity for us!”

Add the Community Helpers Measurement activities to your cart and have 20+ hands-on measurement centers ready for your community helpers theme. Print the mats, pull out the cubes and watch your learners measure, compare and sort with confidence!

Download Details

This is a digital download that will be available to you directly after purchase. Nothing will be mailed to you.

You will receive a link to the download in three places

• On the "thank you" page after checkout
• In your email
• Anytime from your account: https://lifeovercsstore.com/account