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How to Teach How to Read Rulers

If you have a child who is not familiar with how to read a ruler, then you can lead her in an exercise so that she can practice calculating measurements. An American child likely will use an English ruler for most of her measurements, as the United States is on the English measuring system. This means that your child will learn to measure in inches.

Things You'll Need

Ruler
Paper
Pencil

Instructions

- 1
  Inspect your English ruler and notice its characteristics. English rulers have numerals from one to 12 across the horizontal span of the ruler. In between the numbers are short, vertical dashes.
- 2
  Count the number of short, vertical dashes in between the numerals on your ruler. If you count seven dashes, then you are holding a 1/8-inch ruler. If you count 15 dashes, then you are holding a 1/16-inch ruler. Each dash is worth 1/8 or 1/16, according to the type of ruler.
- 3
  Measure a flat object -- such as a pencil or a piece of paper -- using your ruler. For example, place a piece of paper vertically on a table. Then, place the ruler beneath it. Notice the highest numeral your paper reaches without going past the edge of the paper. Let's say this numeral is "8" and you are measuring with an 1/8-inch ruler.
- 4
  Count the number of dashes from the "8" mark to the end of the paper. Let's say you count 4 dashes. Add the number of eighths together, and you get 4/8. This measurement reduces to 1/2. Therefore, your paper is 8.5 inches long.

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