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4th grade math · Unit 9: Measurement and time

Measuring to the nearest eighth inch

What this lesson shows

A ruler zoomed in: halves, fourths, eighths.

The worked example

The lesson works this one step by step: 2 3/8. Then your kid tries one like it on paper.

The steps

  1. Middle mark: halves
  2. Shorter: fourths
  3. Shortest: eighths
  4. Count spaces from the inch

Helping at home

Between two inch marks, the longest mark is the half, the next are fourths, and the shortest are eighths: 8 equal spaces. Start the line at 0, find the whole inch, then count eighth spaces past it. A half is 4 eighths and a fourth is 2.

If your kid gets stuck

Find the whole inches first, then count eighths.

Watch it with Lux

With Lux, this lesson is a narrated video and a printed page your kid works on. Then Lux helps with the same math on their own worksheet, one question at a time.

See how Lux works

Standards

  • Common Core 4.MD.B.4
    Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Solve problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions by using information presented in line plots. For example, from a line plot find and interpret the difference in length between the longest and shortest specimens in an insect collection.
Matches standards in 50 statesSee each state's code

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