TIPS FOR

PARENTS

MEASURING LENGTH
LEARNING GOALS
Everyday
Students will learn to measure length through
activities involving comparisons of everyday Activity 1
household items and also a brief introduction to
perimeter using informal measurement units to Whilst doing everyday activities around the house, you may come
across a bunch of household items at varying lengths, collect
calculate the length around an item. The activities
these items into a basket and give your child a chance to order
include fun house hunts and involve the use of your CO
them from biggest to smallest in terms of height.
child’s favourite items to make it more engaging and Items may include:
budget friendly! J • Kitchen utensils • Brushes • Height of family
• Pencils • Books members
• Plants • Boxes • Sticks

Activity 2
Favourite • Drink bottles • Toys • Straws

Things
This game introduces the maths concept
perimeter. You will need 10 long straws.
1. Ask your child to grab 3 of their favourite
items: a book, a toy and an item of their
choice
2. Your child must guess how many straws
are needed to fit all around the item.
3. Once a guess is made, measure using the
straws and place them one by one
following each other around the item.
4. Then count how many straws were used
to fit all around the item and see if the
guess was close!
Length Hunt Activity 3
1. Collect a stick, a card, a length of rope or some other object
with an obvious length.
2. Your child must find 5 things in the room that are shorter
than, longer than, or about the same length as your chosen
item.
3. Ask them to explain which items they believe are shorter
than, longer than, or the same length as your chosen item.
To make it easier for your child, provide a picture of the 5 items
they need to hunt for so they are aware of what they are looking
for.

Comparing
This activity will introduce children how to measure using comparison
Activity 4

and measurement tools such as a ruler at the end to confirm the

comparison outcome.

1. Grab 2 objects of similar lengths such as pencils or markers

2. Ask your child to compare the two item’s and measure which is longer and
which is shorter. (Note that these two objects must be within 0-10cms or 0-
20cms depending on the counting ability of your child.)
3. After deciding which item is shorter or longer, use a ruler to test the
results. Ask your child to place the item next to the ruler and then count the
numbers on the ruler and stop counting when they hit the top of the item.