Mathematics / Year 5 / Measurement

Curriculum content descriptions

choose appropriate metric units when measuring the length, mass and capacity of objects; use smaller units or a combination of units to obtain a more accurate measure (AC9M5M01)

Elaborations
  • ordering metric units from the largest unit to the smallest; for example, kilometre, metre, centimetre, millimetre
  • recognising that some units of measurement are better suited to some tasks than others; for example, kilometres are more appropriate than metres to measure the distance between \(2\) towns
  • deciding on the unit required to estimate the amount of paint or carpet for a room or a whole building; justifying the choice of unit in relation to the context and the degree of accuracy required
  • measuring and comparing distances, such as jumps or throws using a metre length of string; for example, then measuring the part metre with centimetres and/or millimetres; explaining which unit of measure is most accurate
  • researching how the base units are derived for the International System of Units (SI), commonly known as the metric system of units, recognising that the metric unit names for the attributes, length and mass are international standards for measurement
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Numeracy Numeracy
ScOT terms

Units of measurement,  Length,  Mass,  Volume (Dimensions)

Online

Metric units and using instruments: Year 5 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 5 is for the topic of Metric units and using instruments. Students choose appropriate metric units measuring the length, mass and capacity of objects.

Downloadable

First steps in mathematics: Measurement – Book 2

A guide to teaching about measurement including indirect measuring, and estimating.

Downloadable

How heavy is this frog/tin?

Use this diagnostic task to assess understanding of mass and units used to measure mass.

Downloadable

Measurement: Foundation to Year 9

This comprehensive resource describes the progression of measurement ideas. The resource demonstrates examples of relevant teaching strategies, investigations, activity plans and connected concepts in measurement including teaching and cultural implications.

Downloadable

First steps in mathematics: Measurement – Book 1

The content of this book is organised into topics including understanding units, and direct measuring.

Online

Lengths and areas

This is a website designed for teachers and students in year 5, and addresses components of the length and area topic. It is particularly relevant for selecting appropriate metric units of measurement for length, perimeter and area, and calculation of the area of rectangles. There are pages for both teachers and students. ...

Downloadable

Drone safety lesson: How close, how far?

This lesson provides an authentic context to develop skills of estimation and measuring length. It provides an opportunity for students to connect decimal representations to the metric system and convert from centimetres to metres, and metres to kilometres. It also provides a context to investigate and become familiar with ...

Video

Decimal fractions video

Use this video to explore decimal fractions, how they are represented and how we use them in day-to-day contexts.

Downloadable

Kitchen scales

Use this diagnostic task to assess a student's understanding of mass and the graduations on a kitchen scale.

Online

Time and duration: Year 5 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 5 is for the topic of Time and duration. Students focus on reading time in 12- and 24-hour time and converting between them. They build on their knowledge of am and pm notation and solve time-related problems.

Video

Area and perimeter video

Use this video to connect area and perimeter to real world applications to set the context for why we are learning about area and perimeter.

Online

Area and perimeter: Year 5 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 5 is for the topic of Area and perimeter. Students estimate and measure perimeter in metric units for length and area of quadrilaterals using grid squares and square centimetres. They solve practical problems involving the perimeter and area of regular and irregular shapes.

Downloadable

What is the area?

Use this diagnostic task to assess what students know about area and using the area formula.

Online

Enlargement transformations

This is a website designed for teachers and students in year 5, and addresses components of the enlargement transformations topic in geometry. It is particularly relevant for the concept of enlarging two-dimensional shapes and also contains material on enlarging drawings using grid paper. There are pages for both teachers ...

Online

Angles - measurement, construction, estimation

This is a website designed for teachers and students in year 5, and addresses the topic of angles. It contains material on the vocabulary used when dealing with angles, and introduces the measurement and construction of angles using a protractor. There are pages for both teachers and students. The student pages contain ...

Text

Giant hole: climb through a hole in a sheet of paper

This teaching resource outlines an activity for students to explore the relationship between the area and perimeter of a shape, by using a series of cuts in a piece of paper to create a hole large enough to step through. The resource includes detailed instructions for creating the cuts in the paper, an explanation of how ...

Downloadable

Ice cream puddles

Use this diagnostic task to assess understanding of area and comparing the area of two shapes using a relevant approach.