3.2 Measure, measuring and measurement Objectives • Measure and draw lines to the nearest millimetre • Use names and abbreviations of units of measurement to measure, estimate, calculate and solve problems in everyday contexts involving length, area • Solve word problems and investigate in a range of contexts: length, area and perimeter • Make simple scale drawings Starter (1) Oral and mental objective Draw a ‘spider diagram’ on the board with numbers on the legs. Write × or ÷ and one of 10/100/1000 on the body, and point to each leg in turn. Pupils complete the calculations. Starter (2) Introducing the lesson topic Divide the board in two. Write a different mathematical word related to measures at the top of each half. Divide the class into two teams. Teams then take turns to write a ‘measure’ word starting with one letter of the previous word, e.g. ‘metre ~ estimate’. The team with more words wins. Main lesson − Ask pupils for the names of common units of measurement. (If you used Starter 2, pupils can start by identifying any units from this list.) You may need to explain the difference between metric and imperial units here. Ask pupils to pick out length/mass/capacity units in order of size. − Why do we use units? How many millimetres are there in a centimetre? How many centimetres are there in a metre? … − Use objects to show 1 litre, 5 ml, 1 kg, 1 g, 1 m, 15 cm, etc, for example a litre drinks bottle, a medicine spoon (5 ml), 1 kg bag of sugar, a centicube (1 g) … Ask pupils to use these ‘standards’ to estimate the measurements of other objects. Estimate the height of the classroom door. Estimate the capacity of this small drinking glass? 1 Metric units − What do we mean by convert? 2 Converting metric units Demonstrate how to use the diagrams for a range of different examples. How do you convert centilitres to litres? … kilometres to metres. What is 75 metres in centimetres? Stress that to convert to larger units you divide by a multiple of 10, and that to convert to smaller units you multiply by a multiple of 10. Resources • Mini whiteboards • Main: Objects such as a litre drinks bottle, a medicine spoon, a centicube, a 1 kg bag of sugar etc, to show some ‘standard’ measurements. • Activity A: Scales for weighing and rulers for measuring. E-book • Explanations 1 – 4 • Extra questions • Worked solutions • Quiz • Competitive game Intervention • Access Book p34-42 1