Length and height - Measure length m - Presentation

In an engaging lesson centred around measuring lengths, students expand their knowledge of measurement units by exploring the metre, a larger unit than the centimetre they are already familiar with. The lesson encourages students to estimate and visualise what a metre looks like by standing one metre apart from a partner. They are prompted to discuss the length of a metre and compare it to a centimetre, understanding the relative sizes of these units. Students then examine various objects, determining whether it would be more appropriate to measure each in centimetres or metres, fostering practical understanding of the application of these units in everyday contexts.

Following this, the lesson offers hands-on activities where students use metre sticks to measure objects in their classroom, categorising them based on whether they are longer or shorter than a metre. This practical approach helps solidify their understanding of the metre as a unit of length. Additional exercises involve counting in 10 centimetre blocks to make the connection that 100 centimetres equal one metre. Students are then tasked with measuring larger spaces, such as the school hall, and recording the lengths in both metres and centimetres. Reasoning activities challenge them to estimate distances they can run in a set time and to find solutions for measuring lengths that exceed their metre stick. Independent work reinforces these concepts, prompting students to consider when to use metres over centimetres and the efficiency of using larger units for longer distances, along with the types of equipment suitable for measuring such lengths.