Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Carats, Cubits, and Gills
Weights and Measures Day
Reading Comprehension for May 20
What do you think of when you hear about carats, cubits, and gills? Perhaps you think of orange vegetables, rabbits, building blocks, or fish. These three words have nothing to do with those things. They refer to units of measure.
From the beginning of time, people have been looking for ways to measure and weigh things. Not all things are measured the same way. Sometimes the measures are different in other countries.
Early cultures learned to measure length using body parts like the hand, finger, or forearm. The cubit is based on the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.
Time was measured by the placement of the sun, stars, or planets in the sky. Some cultures made stone circles or buildings that were also calendars.
