Measuring

Measuring around your house!

1. Pick 5 small objects that you could easily measure the length of.
2. Put them in order from smallest to largest.
3. Look carefully at your measuring tool and find 10 cm. Decide which of your objects are bigger or smaller than 10cm. (Try to remember the size of 10cm, using your fingers).
4. Estimate the size of each object, in cm, then write down your estimates.
5. Now measure them accurately. Think about some golden rules for measuring beforehand ( look at the end of this post and see how many you thought of). You could measure them to the nearest cm, half cm or nearest millimetre. Check your estimates. How good were they? (It doesn't matter if they were a long way off, you will get better at this!)
6. Convert your measurement from cm to mm. You could do it by using your knowledge of x10, or by doing it this way:

If your object measures 10 cm and 3 mm, convert the 10 cm first. 1cm = 10mm (look at the mm in your measuring tool to prove it), so 2cm must = 20mm and so on. Carry on with this pattern until you find how many mm there are in 10cm. Does this remind you of anything? (Yes, it’s the 10x tables!) When you have found the answer, add on yout 3mm. Remember that if an object is 13cm, you will have to do 13 lots of 10mm, before adding the rest on.

7. Now pick some bigger objects and do exactly the same thing with them. Make sure you estimate first - it is a great skill to keep practising and it doesn’t matter if you are not right, because you will get better with practice! You might not be able to put these in order in your house, but you could say which ones you think are smaller / bigger.

When you have done that, think of some things that you might have to measure around the house. This week I have measured my kitchen, for new worktops. I have also measured BeauBeans for a new running harness. He has a big neck!

Extra challenge

Add some of the measurements together (your choice which ones or how many you add). Look around the house and find something that you think will be the same length as those combined lengths. How close were you? Reflect on your estimating skills. Repeat! 



Miss BB’s Golden rules for measuring

1. Select the right measuring tool for the job! You can’t measure a finger nail with a trundle wheel accurately!
2. Make sure you start at 0. Some rulers don’t have 0 on the end.
3. Make sure you use the right unit of measurement. Don’t accidentally use inches if you are measuring in cms. Don’t use km for small objects.
4. Estimate what you think the measurement would be. That way, if your estimate and actual measurement are very different, you might realise you made a mistake with your measuring.
5. Measure twice, or get someone to check your measurement. It’s easy to make mistakes! 
6. Write down your measurement, so you don't forget it if you are measuring lots of things.
7. Look at the measurement you have written down. Does it seem right?