Length of something:
 

in an arbitrary standard

example:  Measure the height of your notebook in "pen lengths".

in a metric standard (cm, meters, kilometers)

example:  Measure the length of your bed in meters.

in an arbitrary standard

example:  Measure the surface area of your desk in "sticky notes" by seeing how many sticky notes it takes to cover your desk.  Alternately, you could measure the length and width in an arbitrary standard like "string cheese lengths" and multiply to get the area in "square string cheese lengths".

in a metric standard (square centimeters, square meters)

example:  Measure the surface area of the front of your fridge in square centimeters by measuring the height of your fridge in centimeters and the width of your fridge in centimeters and multiplying these numbers to get the area in square centimeters.

Area of an irregular shape by direct measurement:
 

in an arbitrary standard

example:  Measure the surface area of a floor mat from a car in "linoleum tile squares" by laying the floor mat on squares of linoleum tile and seeing how many tiles are covered.  (Any tile more than half covered counts, any less than half covered doesn't count.)

in a metric standard

example:  Measure the surface area of the front of your hand by tracing your hand on one centimeter square graph paper and counting the square centimeters covered.  (Any square more than half covered counts, any less than half covered doesn't count.)

Volume of a regular shape by calculation
 

in an arbitrary standard

example:  Measure the volume of a cereal box in "film canister volumes" by filling the cereal box with rice using a film canister and seeing how many film canisters full it takes to completely fill the box.  Alternately, you could measure the length, width and height of a rectangular solid in an arbitrary measure like "barbie doll head lengths" and multiply these to get the volume in "cubic barbie doll head lengths."

in a metric standard (cubic centimeters, milliliters, liters)

example:  Measure the volume of a cereal box in cubic centimeters by measuring the height, length and width in centimeters and multiplying these three numbers by one another to get the volume in cubic centimeters.  Since one cubic centimeter is equal to one milliliter, this is also equivalent to the volume in milliliters.
 

Note:  You cannot take the volume of a cylinder (bowl, cup, oatmeal container, etc.) by using the formula "Length x Width x Height"!!  For a regular cylinder, you could find the area of the base (3.14 x radius squared) and then multiply by the height to get the volume.
 
 

Mass

in an arbirary standard

example: Measure the mass of a rock in "rubber frogs."

in a metric standard

example: Measure the mass of a rock in grams.

 

Be sure to note what each arbitrary standard is when you are measuring with non-standard units.
Show your work for all items.

Base units for Metric measurements:
 

Length:  Meter (about 39 inches).  For smaller distances, we use centimeters (about the distance across your pinkie nail). For longer distances we use kilometers (about 6/10 of a mile).

Volume:  Liter (about a quart).    For smaller volumes, we often use the milliliters, which is the volume taken up by a cube one centimeter on a side. So, a liter is also exactly 1000 cubic centimeters.

Mass:  Gram (1/28th of an ounce). One cubic centimeter of water (the same as one milliliter) weighs one gram. For larger masses, we use kilograms (about 2.2 pounds).

Temperature:  Degrees Celsius.  Some useful numbers:

Most Common Prefixes Used in Metric Measurement
 

milli = 1/1000th

example: 1 milliliter = 1/1000th of a liter

centi = 1/100th

example: 1 centimeter = 1/100th of a meter

kilo = 1000x
 

example:  1 kilogram = 1000 grams

 

I Have ... Who Has Game for Metric Review