Measurement – Length

We are comparing informal and formal units of length measurement.

Ask students to build a unifix tower that is 30 cm tall. Ask them to use informal units and their knowledge of length from yesterday’s lesson. Check for student understanding. Hold a 30cm ruler to a tower to show the actual height of 30cm.

Using the different length lines on the practise sheet on slide 4, show students how to place unifix cubes along the length and height of the lines. Record how many unifix cubes the line was. Then model using a ruler and record the length in cm. Students have a turn measuring their lines as practise before doing the main task.

Print off a set of Dino task cards pages 10-14. Place these around the room. Instruct students to walk to each card and measure using informal and formal units. Record your answers in a table.

Enabling: Work with a partner. Can use physical dinosaurs to help establish visual connections.

Extending: Can you convert cm to mm? What is the rule?