Rulers are the key foundation of all forms of measurements. They are literally the first tool of measurement that we put in our students hand. Once you are able to read a ruler this is easily vaulted to all types of measurement tools. They all follow a graded system of measures. The ruler dates back to 2600 B.C. and has undergone many small changes before what we have today as the modern ruler. There are many different types of rulers. They are most often made from wood or plastic, but they can be made of pretty much anything as long as they have a accurate scale. They can be graded in English (inches) or Metric (centimeters) unit of measure. To measure the length of something with a ruler, just place the end most point of the object at the zero point of the ruler. The remaining body of the object will continue over the course of the ruler. Find the where the object ends and take a reading at that point. If the object is bigger than your ruler, you can read it in parts or wait for a larger ruler. You might even need a meter stick which is just a bigger version of a ruler.
These worksheets explain how to practice measuring objects with rulers in Imperial and Metric scales. Students will also learn how to read rulers with subdivisions between whole numbers. This series has just under one-hundred worksheets, lessons, and quizzes within it, just scroll down to see them all. These worksheets have been used by literally over one-hundred teachers and students that do not have access to rulers. They will help you learn how to use this tool and other forms of measurement tools. We will also show you varied unit rulers based on both the metric and US Standard measurement systems.