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Math Activities Using Centimeters for Second Graders

France was the first country to adopt the metric system in the last decade of the 18th century. Conversion between units in the metric system is easy as the system uses a base of 10. A centimeter (cm), is equal to 10 millimeters (mm), for example, and 100 cm equals a meter (m). Although in the United States many teachers do not teach second-graders the metric system, it is actually easier to learn than the English system.

The Meter Stick
- Hand out meter sticks to second-graders and teach them how to read and use this measurement device. On a meter stick, each unit is marked off in tens. Meters are composed of 10 decimeters, marked off on the meter stick by the longest lines. Show the children that decimeters are also divided by 10 and that each of these smaller increments is called a centimeter. Have each child point to where the centimeters are located on the meter stick.
Practice Measuring
- Once children are able to locate centimeters on the meter stick, have them practice measuring common items. Create a worksheet asking the length of the following items: television set, dining room chair, their finger, their nose, their mom̵7;s finger and nose, their favorite bedtime storybook, and their front door. Have the children compare their answers with the other children in the class. Write on the blackboard whose nose is the shortest, who has the largest television and other fun comparisons.
Centimeter Guessing Game
- Bring a box of candy to class. Have each student write down a guess of how many centimeters the box measures. Have the students hand in their votes. Read each vote, determine which is the closest to the correct measurement and award the winner the box of chocolates. Alternatively, you can play a game where you have each child make a guess and say ̶0;hotter̶1; or ̶0;colder̶1; to indicate whether they are closer or farther away from the number than the child who went before them. Award each child a chocolate for making a guess.
The Centimeter Olympics
- Hold a mock Olympics event in the classroom such as a long jump. Explain how the metric system is used at the Olympics because most countries measure with this system. Have each child complete the jump while a teacher̵7;s aide uses a metric tape to measure the number of centimeters they can jump. Build suspense by having the teacher's aide announce each person's jump length and who is in the top three after each jump. Award gold, silver and bronze medals as appropriate.

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