How do you recognize parts of an inch?

Here in Virginia our studnets need to know how to measure a picture to the nearest inch, 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch and 1/8 of an inch.  How do we teach it? Let me show you....

First we started by passing out inch rulers and drawing three inch lines. 
Then we divided one line in half, one line in fourths and one line in eigths.  Then we colored each section to show size. It looked like this in their science notebooks.

Part two - we went outside to our school garden in search of objects that were less than one inch.  The students had so much fun measuring objects in nature and recording them in their science notebooks.

They found a ladybug that was about 1/8 of an inch.

Here is a sample of the notebook entries from one child....

I don't know if you can read it, but it says A growing white flower (1/8 of an inch).

A pebble (1/4) of an inch.

The inside of a yellow flower (the stigma) 1/4 of an inch

Ant = Half an inch