Year 4 Teaching Sequence autumn M1 – Length (three days)
Prerequisites:
 Know the relationship between kilometres and metres, metres and centimetres, and choose and use appropriate units
to estimate, measure and record measurements (see Year 3 teaching sequences D1 and D6 and oral and mental starter
bank M1)
 Have an idea of what one centimetre, 30cm and one metre look like and use these as benchmarks to estimate
distances (see oral and mental starter bank M1)
Overview of progression:
Children measure distances in centimetres and millimetres and convert between the two. They make estimates of distance,
measure and estimate other distances to see if their estimates have improved following further experience. They measure
distances in metres and centimetres and convert between millimetres, centimetres and metres in order to order them.
Note that children aren’t formally taught decimal notation of tenths and hundredths until the spring in Hamilton sequences,
but the experience of seeing tenths and hundredths in context should help this later learning.
Note that it is important that children have some ‘benchmarks’ such as a 30cm ruler and metre stick to help them to
estimate distances, particularly until they have more experience of measuring. They are unlikely to be able to make
estimates in kilometres for some years yet! However, it is useful to begin to build up a picture of what the distance of a
kilometre looks like.
Watch out for children who don’t measure from zero on rulers/tape measures, but from the beginning of the ruler/tape
measure if these are different.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y4 Maths TS_M1 – Aut – 3days
Objectives:
 Choose and use standard metric units and their abbreviations when estimating, measuring and recording length
 Know the meaning of 'kilo', 'centi' and 'milli'
 Where appropriate, use decimal notation to record measurements (e.g. 1.3 m)
 Interpret intervals and divisions on partially numbered scales and record readings accurately
Whole class
Give a ruler marked in centimetres and
millimetres to each child and ask them to
describe it to each other. Take feedback and
draw out that the little lines are used to
measure millimetres, the slightly longer lines
show intervals of 5mm and the boldest/longest
lines mark centimetres. How many millimetres
are in a centimetre? In two centimetres? In
ten centimetres?
Ask children to measure the length of one of
their fingernails to the nearest millimetre.
Record a few of these in centimetres and
millilitres, e.g. 1cm 3mm. How can we write this
in just millimetres? Record 13mm. We can also
record this as 1.3cm, the 3 representing three
tenths of a centimetre, i.e. 3 millimetres.
Discuss the prefixes we use in measurement,
explaining that these can help us to remember
the relationships between different units.
Centi is a prefix that we use to mean one
hundredth (think of century, centurion and
centipede) so centimetre is one hundredth of
a metre, and centilitre is one hundredth of a
litre, sometimes seen on drinks containers.
Milli is a prefix that we use to mean one
Group activities
Group of 4-5 children
Draw a wiggly line so that the total length is
less than 30cm. How could we measure the
length of the line, it will be difficult to use a
ruler! After some discussion draw out or
suggest that they use a piece of string, place
this against the line, note the length on the
string, and then measure the string up to the
point using a ruler. Suggest that this is easier
than using a cloth tape measure.
Ask children to each cut a price of string 15cm
long, and then to use it to draw wiggly lines of
the same length. Compare them. Do they look
the same length? It might be that those that
are less curly look longer!
Measure other ‘curly’ distances using string to
help such as the outline of different children’s
footprints or handprints. Ask them to make an
estimate first – they may be surprised! You will
need a tape measure/metre stick rather than a
ruler.
Harder: Also challenge children to draw a
‘wiggly’ line 15cm long without the hep of a
measured piece of string. They repeat and see
if their estimation improves.
Paired/indiv practice
Resources
Ask children to draw squares with
sides 2cm, 3cm, 4cm, 5cm 6cm
and 7cm. They measure the
diagonal to the nearest
millimetre, and record this in
millimetres, and also in
centimetres and millimetres, e.g.
56mm, 5cm, 6mm.
Ask them to draw diagonals
measuring 71 and 95 millimetres,
and use this to construct squares.
Harder: Children also write the
measurement in just centimetres,
e.g. 1.6cm.
 Rulers
 String, scissors
 Tape
measure/metre
stick
 cm2 paper
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y4 Maths TS_M1 – Aut – 3days
thousandth (think of millipede and millennium).
So millimetre is one thousandth of a metre, or
one tenth of a centimetre. Millilitre is one
thousandth of a litre.
Kilo (from French and Ancient Greek) means
one thousand, so kilometre is one thousand
metres, and kilogram one thousand grams.
Record the following measurements on the
board:
2mm, 5mm, 2cm, 5cm, 2m, 5m, 2km, 5km
Explain that these are estimates for
particular distances. Ask questions such as
those below.
Which would be a good estimate for:
the distance you can walk in an hour?
the distance you can jump?
the length of an ant?
the distance across a 10p coin?
Ask children to respond by writing the
distance on their whiteboards having
discussed the answer with their maths
partners.
Take children into the hall and ask each group
to work together to measure each other’s best
standing jumps out of three (after a little
practice). Do this by holding a tape measure
horizontally along the ground as the child
Group of 4-5 children
Write the following distances on the board:
Width of the door
Height of the door
Width of a maths book
Length of a pencil
Show children a metre stick and a 30cm ruler to
use to help them make an estimate for each.
Record the range of estimates. Split the group
up and ask them to measure the items.
Discuss the accuracy of their estimates.
Repeat with the following items:
Height of table
Length of a table
Length of a pen
Length of maths book.
Did their estimates improve with experience?
Easier:/Harder: Children's estimates will
depend on their attainment in this area.
Ask children to estimate the
length of five lines (see
resources). They then measure
them, and work out how much
each estimate was out by in
millimetres.
They then estimate the length of
another set of lines (without
comparing them to the original
five!), measure them and see if
their estimation skills have
improved.
Easier:/Harder: Children’s
estimation skills will vary
according heir ability in this area.
 Metre stick
 Tape measures
 Activity sheets
each of five
lines – give
these out
separately
 30cm rulers
Group of 4-5 children
Remind children that one kilometre is equivalent
to 1000 metres. Launch Google Earth or and
online mapping program and find the school.
Choose kilometres as the unit of distance.
Ask children to work in pairs to
write all their group's distances
in both centimetres, and metres
and centimetres. Ask them to put
the group's distances in order
 Access to the
hall, PE mats,
tape measures
 Access to
Google Earth
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y4 Maths TS_M1 – Aut – 3days
jumps. Then marking the best guess, then
holding a pencil at this position as they do a
second jump to see if the distance is correct.
Half the group record their distance in
centimetres only and half record them in
metres and centimetres. (This could be done
in a PE lesson, and the data used in the maths
lesson.) Write some distances on the board
and discuss how they can be converted into
centimetres only or into metres and
centimetres.
Also explain that a distance such as 1m and
14cm can be written as 1.14m, the 14
represents 14 hundredths, i.e. 14 centimetres.
Show one group's results. Who jumped the
furthest? Discuss how this is easier to see
immediately if all results are recorded in the
same units.
Discuss a few landmarks on the map so that
children can get their bearings. It may help to
switch between mapping and satellite views.
Which place on the map do you think is about
one kilometre, that is a thousand metres away
from school? Use the program to test children's
ideas.
Repeat with two, five and ten kilometres. Keep a
record of these places.
We often use miles as a measure of distances.
Find the distances to the previous places found
in miles. Which is further, one mile or one
kilometre? Explain that one mile is about 1.6
kilometres, i.e. just over one and a half
kilometres. Five miles is equivalent to
approximately 8 kilometres.
Harder: Convert some other longer distances
from miles to kilometres, by multiplying by 1.6.
from least to the greatest.
If you carried out the jumping in
a PE lesson, you may have time to
also ask children to measure their
heights and see if taller children
jumped further.
Harder: Children also write each
measurement in metres only.
or an online
mapping
program
Enter the data in a database package ready
for teaching sequence D1.
© Original teaching sequence copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Y4 Maths TS_M1 – Aut – 3days