Longer, heavier, holds more, takes longer: a week of maths

Five days of lessons for Foundation Measurement. Print this pack and the week is prepared: each day has a one-page plan and a student worksheet, plus cut-out cards, a mini-check and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the week at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the five days. Each day is two A4 sheets: a plan and a worksheet.
3. Cut out the two card sheets once; they are reused all week.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No maths background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the idea in plain words, lists the muddles children bring, and gives model answers, so you can walk in and teach it.

One day, one lesson

The five lessons fill a week of maths, one lesson of about 40 minutes a day. Run them in order: each day adds one attribute, and Day 5 pulls them together. Every lesson can also split into short bursts if your morning runs in small blocks.

The week at a glance

One lesson a day for a week. Each day adds one attribute, so run them in order.

How the week builds

Day 1 compares length, Day 2 capacity, Day 3 mass and Day 4 duration; Day 5 puts all four together and asks children to say how they know. It builds on the everyday comparing children already do, and it opens the way to measuring with informal units in Year 1, where a comparison turns into a count.

Materials for the week (one trip)

• From the classroom: scissors, pencils, this pack printed.
• From the room or the craft box: a few pairs of everyday objects to compare (pencils, cups, blocks, a balloon and a pebble), and a simple balance or two matching cups if you have one.
• Cut out once, use all week: the object cards and the comparison word cards in this pack. No special equipment to buy.

Dear families

This week in maths, Foundation compares things without a ruler. We look at which is longer, which holds more, which is heavier and which takes longer, and we say how we know.

Try this at home

• Line up two spoons or two socks at one end. Which is longer? How can you tell?
• Pour water from one cup into another. Which holds more?
• Hold something in each hand. Which is heavier? Is the bigger one always heavier?
• Start two jobs together, like a wash and a snack. Which takes longer?

My comparing this week

Fill one row a day. Tick when you compared two things and said how you know.

Printed from the free seegongsik measurement teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/foundation/measurement/AC9MFM01/pack

Longer or shorter

Measuring starts long before rulers. Today children compare the length of two things by lining up one end, then say which is longer. The shared start line is the whole idea.

We are learning to

• line up one end of two objects,
• say which is longer and which is shorter,
• tell why lining up is fair.

Success criteria

• I can line up one end of two things.
• I can say which is longer and how I know.

You need

A few pairs of everyday objects to compare (two pencils, two ribbons, a straw and a paperclip). The object cards (cut-out sheet 1), one set per pair. The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two short bursts instead? End the first burst after the line-up. Start the second by comparing three objects and putting them in order, shortest first.

Watch for these ideas

• Calling the object that sticks out further the longer one, even when the ends did not start together.
• Comparing from different starts and trusting the look instead of lining up.
• Thinking a thicker or brighter object must be the longer one.

Answers

• Fair line-up: line up one end, then the object whose far end sticks out is longer.
• Circle answers vary with the real objects: check the child lined up one end first.
• Draw-your-own varies: the longer line should clearly reach further than the shorter one.

Line them up

Find each pair of things. Line up one end. Then circle the longer one and tick the box to show you lined them up.

Draw the longer one

Line up two pencils at one end. Draw them here, the longer one and the shorter one.

Say how you know

I know which is longer because ____________________

Holds more or less

Capacity is how much a container holds. Today children pour to compare, and meet the trap: a tall, thin cup can look bigger yet hold less than a short, wide one.

We are learning to

• pour from one container into another to compare,
• say which holds more and which holds less,
• tell why the taller container does not always hold more.

Success criteria

• I can pour to see which container holds more.
• I can say which holds more and how I know.

You need

Two or three pairs of containers, one tall and thin, one short and wide. Water, rice or sand, and a tray for spills. The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two short bursts instead? End the first burst after the pour. Start the second by pouring one container to fill two smaller cups and counting.

Watch for these ideas

• Thinking the taller container must hold more, because it looks bigger.
• Judging by height alone and not pouring to check.
• Forgetting that a wide, low container can hold a lot.

Answers

• The one that still has room after the pour holds more; the one that fills and spills first holds less.
• Circle answers vary with the real containers: check the child poured to decide.
• Draw-your-own varies: the fuller drawing should match the container that overflowed.

Pour to compare

Find each pair. Pour from one into the other. Then circle the one that holds more and tick the box to show you poured.

The tricky pair

A tall, thin cup and a short, wide cup. Pour to find out. Draw the one that holds more with more water in it.

Say how you know

The cup that holds more is the one that ____________________

Heavier or lighter

Mass is best felt, then seen. A thing in each hand, and the heavier one presses down. A balance shows this to the whole class at once. The surprise: a small thing can be heavier than a big thing.

We are learning to

• hold one thing in each hand to feel which is heavier,
• use a balance to see which side goes down,
• say why the bigger thing is not always the heavier one.

Success criteria

• I can say which of two things is heavier.
• I can show it on a balance or with my hands.

You need

A simple balance if you have one, or a coat hanger and two bags. Pairs of objects, including a small heavy one and a big light one (a stone and a sponge). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two short bursts instead? End the first burst after weighing by hand. Start the second with the balance and the stone-and-sponge trap.

Watch for these ideas

• Thinking the bigger object is always the heavier one: a pebble can outweigh a balloon.
• Reading the balance the wrong way, thinking the side that rises is heavier.
• Guessing by looks instead of feeling or weighing.

Answers

• The heavier thing is the one that presses your hand down, or sends its side of the balance down.
• Circle answers vary with the real objects: the small stone is heavier than the big sponge.
• Draw-your-own varies: the heavier side of the balance should be drawn lower.

Which is heavier

Hold each pair, one in each hand, or use the balance. Then circle the heavier one and tick the box to show you weighed them.

Draw the balance

Put a small stone on one side and a big sponge on the other. Draw which side goes down.

Say how you know

The bigger thing is not always heavier because ____________________

Takes longer

Duration is the one you cannot hold, only watch. The fair way to compare how long two events take is to start them at the same moment; then the one that finishes first took less time.

We are learning to

• start two events at the same moment,
• watch which one finishes first,
• say which took longer and which took shorter.

Success criteria

• I can start two events together.
• I can say which took longer and how I know.

You need

Space to move. Two children to act out a pair of events at once. The comparison word cards (cut-out sheet 2). The worksheet, one per child. No clock is needed.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two short bursts instead? End the first burst after the clap-and-hop race. Start the second by ordering three events from shortest to longest.

Watch for these ideas

• Starting the events at different moments, so the finish no longer tells a fair story.
• Thinking the louder or busier event must take longer.
• Mixing up finishing first with taking longer: finishing first means it took less time.

Answers

• Start together; the event that finishes last took longer, and the one that finishes first took shorter.
• Circle answers vary with the class: check both events started at the same moment.
• Draw-your-own varies: the longer event should be drawn as the longer bar.

Which takes longer

With a partner, start both events at the same moment. Then circle the one that took longer and tick the box to show you started together.

Draw the time bars

Draw two bars that start together. Make the longer bar the event that took longer.

Say how you know

I know which took longer because ____________________

Compare and give a reason

The week’s four attributes come together today. Children compare two things for any attribute and, most of all, say how they know. The reason is the part the curriculum most wants to hear.

We are learning to

• choose the right attribute to compare: length, capacity, mass or duration,
• compare two things fairly,
• say how I know, not just which one.

Success criteria

• I can compare two things for length, capacity, mass or duration.
• I can give a reason for my answer.

You need

The object cards and the comparison word cards (cut-out sheets 1 and 2). The worksheet, one per child. The mini-check to hand out at the end.

Lesson flow (about 40 minutes)

Two short bursts instead? End the first burst after compare and say why. Start the second with the mini-check on its own.

Watch for these ideas

• Naming the winner but skipping the reason: the reason is the point of the lesson.
• Picking the wrong attribute, comparing how heavy when the question was how long.
• Forgetting to be fair: no shared start line, or events that did not start together.

Answers

• Broom is longer, jug holds more, brick is heavier, a nap takes longer. Reasons vary: check each names a fair comparison.
• A good reason says what was done to be fair (lined up, poured, weighed, started together).
• Mini-check answers are on the answers sheet at the back of the pack.

Compare and say why

For each row, circle the one that has more of the attribute. Then finish the sentence.

My own compare

Pick two things in the room. Compare them for any attribute.

The ____________ is ____________ than the ____________.

I know because ____________________

Strips to order by length

Cut out the six strips. They are all different lengths. Line up one end of every strip, then put them in order from shortest to longest. Use them again on Day 5.

Teacher note: the strips are printed in a jumbled order, so ordering them is a real task. Lining up one end is the same fair-start habit as Line Them Up on screen.

Comparison word cards

Cut out the cards. Each day, hold up the two words that fit what you are comparing, and lay the winning word beside the winning object. The same cards work all week.

Length

Mass

Capacity

Duration

Teacher note: keep the four pairs in four little piles, so children choose the attribute first, then the word.

What we know: comparing without a ruler

Work on your own. Your teacher can read the questions to you. Say how you know when you can.

1. Which is longer, a train or a car? Circle it.
2. Which holds more, a bathtub or a teacup? Circle it.
3. Which is heavier, a watermelon or a grape? Circle it.
4. Which takes longer, a whole night of sleep or one blink? Circle it.
5. To compare two sticks fairly, first you should: line up one end / colour them in / count them. Circle it.
6. A big beach ball and a small marble. Which is heavier? Circle it.
7. Two songs start together. One finishes first. Which took longer, the one that finished first or the one that finished last? Circle it.
8. How do you know which cup holds more? ____________________

Answers and marking guide

Answers

1. A train (it is longer).
2. A bathtub (it holds more).
3. A watermelon (it is heavier).
4. A whole night of sleep (it takes longer).
5. Line up one end.
6. The marble (a small thing can be heavier than a big thing).
7. The one that finished last (it took longer).
8. Any fair reason, such as: pour one into the other, and the one with room left over holds more.

A quick three-level guide

Eight questions, four attributes. A child at standard compares each attribute fairly and can say how they know.

Weekly class record

Jot a tick as you move around the room; the mini-check fills any gaps. A tick a day is plenty.

The five columns are the five days: length, capacity, mass, duration, and comparing with a reason.