There is nothing that children can connect more solidly to everyday life than measurement. Give even a very young child a ruler and they will try to determine how "big" they are. By the end of the second grade students should learn which units are appropriate for measuring something less than a foot long (inches or centimeters) or great distances (miles and kilometers). Besides length, students they should also learn to measure weight and capacity of objects. They will learn what attributes (tools) are available for measuring linear dimensions, weight, capacity, and temperature. They also learn to use clocks and calendars to measure times. They are taught the concept of minutes, quarter-hours, half-hours, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. By this time they should be able to use both digital and analog clocks and be able to determine 5 minute intervals. Another aspect of measurement they should know would be temperature, using both Celsius and Fahrenheit. By linking measurement to the world around the student, we can draw them into the curiosity of how big something is, how much it can hold, how hot is is, or how long it will take to do something. This helps them relate the attributes, units of measure and the tools we use to find them out, rather than being some sort of abstract concept.
Here is a link to some effective ways to introduce measurement into your students vocabulary.
Teaching Ideas
I have also included some links to some fun games that elementary students will totally enjoy.
Liquid Measure Game
Funbrain
Gameqaruim
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