Get your students comfortable with the concept of measurement. Use practical lessons to get students used to nonstandard measures. For example, ask them to guess the distance from their chairs to the door of the classroom. Then, as an activity, have them measure that distance with their feet. You might also ask your students how big a drawing would have to be to fill an empty wall space in the classroom. Ask them to use objects such as books and posters to approximate the size
Introduce students to standard measurement terminology such as feet and inches, long, short and narrow once they get used to the idea of measurement. Help them become comfortable describing the differences between objects.
Show your students a ruler. Place a 12-inch piece of tape on the board to describe the foot as a unit of measurement. Do the same for an inch and a yard. Explain that the standard ruler is 1 foot, or 12 inches, long, and tell your students how it is used. Use the ruler and chalk to demonstrate how to draw units of measurement. Offer practical reasons for using a ruler, such as in architecture, engineering, dressmaking and building.
Give each student a ruler and provide an opportunity for students to get hands-on experience using it. For example, have them draw lines of varying lengths, such as 6 inches or 1 foot, 3 inches. Have them measure objects around the classroom and around their homes for practice.
Make their assignments more challenging once they become adept as drawing lines and measuring using the ruler. For example, have them guess how many inches long various books in your classroom are. Extend their learning by having them calculate the difference in measurement between two objects -- for example, the length of a broadsheet newspaper and a tabloid newspaper, or the width of the refrigerator and the stove in their homes.