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National Curriculum Resource Tool

Materials to support teachers and schools in embedding the National Curriculum

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Year 5 - Measurement

New Curriculum

  • convert between different units of metric measure (for example, kilometre and metre; centimetre and metre; centimetre and millimetre; gram and kilogram; litre and millilitre)
  • understand and use approximate equivalences between metric units and common imperial units such as inches, pounds and pints
  • measure and calculate the perimeter of composite rectilinear shapes in centimetres and metres
  • calculate and compare the area of rectangles (including squares), and including using standard units, square centimetres (cm2) and square metres (m2) and estimate the area of irregular shapes
  • estimate volume [for example, using 1 cm3 blocks to build cuboids (including cubes)] and capacity [for example, using water]
  • solve problems involving converting between units of time
  • use all four operations to solve problems involving measure [for example, length, mass, volume, money] using decimal notation, including scaling.

Non-Statutory Guidance

Pupils use their knowledge of place value and multiplication and division to convert between standard units.

Pupils calculate the perimeter of rectangles and related composite shapes, including using the relations of perimeter or area to find unknown lengths. Missing measures questions such as these can be expressed algebraically, for example 4 + 2b = 20 for a rectangle of sides 2 cm and b cm and perimeter of 20 cm.

Pupils calculate the area from scale drawings using given measurements.

Pupils use all four operations in problems involving time and money, including conversions (for example, days to weeks, expressing the answer as weeks and days).

Links and Resources

Teachers should use every relevant subject to develop pupils’ mathematical fluency. Confidence in numeracy and other mathematical skills is a precondition of success across the national curriculum.
Teachers should develop pupils’ numeracy and mathematical reasoning in all subjects so that they understand and appreciate the importance of mathematics.

– National Curriculum in England Framework Document, September 2013, p10

Connections within Mathematics

Learners will encounter units of measure in many other aspects of their mathematics learning. Word problems lend themselves well to measures, and are a good way of integrating this strand of mathematics with application of calculation skills.

Measurement provides a meaningful context for ratio and proportion problems and work with fraction, decimals and percentages.

Making connections to this topic in adjacent year groups

Year 4

Pupils should be taught to:

  • Convert between different units of measure [for example, kilometre to metre; hour to minute]
  • measure and calculate the perimeter of a rectilinear figure (including squares) in centimetres and metres
  • find the area of rectilinear shapes by counting squares
  • estimate, compare and calculate different measures, including money in pounds and pence
  • read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12- and 24-hour clocks
  • solve problems involving converting from hours to minutes; minutes to seconds; years to months; weeks to days.

Year 6

Pupils should be taught to:

  • solve problems involving the calculation and conversion of units of measure, using decimal notation up to three decimal places where appropriate
  • use, read, write and convert between standard units, converting measurements of length, mass, volume and time from a smaller unit of measure to a larger unit, and vice versa, using decimal notation to up to three decimal places
  • convert between miles and kilometres
  • recognise that shapes with the same areas can have different perimeters and vice versa
  • recognise when it is possible to use formulae for area and volume of shapes
  • calculate the area of parallelograms and triangles
  • calculate, estimate and compare volume of cubes and cuboids using standard units, including cubic centimetres (cm3) and cubic metres (m3), and extending to other units [for example, mm3 and km3].

Cross-curricular and real life connections

Measurement is an area of mathematics that is used constantly in real-life situations. When decorating a room, measurement of area is needed for carpeting the floor, as well as calculating the rolls of wallpaper needed, or litres of paint required.

Working with drawings of a room to a specified scale, and determining the measurements of furniture to fit.

In Design Technology, children are often required to work to scale, accurately measuring their plans and products as they are developed.

Weigh to Go

This article for teachers recounts the history of measurement, encouraging it to be used as a spring board for cross-curricular activity.

Programme of Study statements Activities  
A B C D E
convert between different units of metric measure (e.g. kilometre and metre; centimetre and metre; centimetre and millimetre; gram and kilogram; litre and millilitre)          
understand and use equivalences between metric units and common imperial units such as inches, pounds and pints          
measure and calculate the perimeter of composite rectilinear shapes in centimetres and metres          
calculate and compare the area of rectangles (including squares) and including using standard units, square centimetres (cm2) and square metres (m2) and estimate the area of irregular shapes          

Activity A - If the world were a village

This activity involves ‘shrinking’ the world population to a group of just 100, and focusing on the different proportions that emerge and the ways in which the data can be presented

Watch a video about this activity

Activity B - Numerically equal

Find shapes that have a numerical equal area and perimeter.

Activity C - Area and Perimeter

Draw shapes according to the rules of area and perimeter.

Activity D - Converting between metric units

A useful jigsaw-style activity, where the children use their knowledge of conversion of different units of measure to match pieces together.

Activity E- Converting between metric and imperial

A worksheet.

Useful Resources

  • Sets of 2D shapes
  • Sets of 3D shapes
  • Mirrors
  • Construction Kits
  • Rulers
  • Pairs of compasses
  • Protractors
  • Angle measurers
  • Measuring equipment for length
  • Measuring equipment for mass
  • Measuring equipment for capacity
  • Measuring equipment for time
  • Money
  • Mirrors

Examples of what children should be able to do, in relation to each (boxed) Programme of Study statement

convert between different units of metric measure (for example, kilometre and metre; centimetre and metre; centimetre and millimetre; gram and kilogram; litre and millilitre

What is two hundred and seventy six centimetres to the nearest metre?

How many millimetres are in 3 centimetres?

understand and use approximate equivalences between metric units and common imperial units such as inches, pounds and pints

This bag of sugar weighs 1kg. Approximately how many pounds (lb) of sugar would fit into another empty bag of the same size as this one? Tick the correct answer.

20lb

14lb

2lb

4lb

Sugar

measure and calculate the perimeter of composite rectilinear shapes in centimetres and metres

This shape is made from 4 shaded squares

Shaded squares

Calculate the perimeter of the shape

Shape

calculate and compare the area of rectangles (including squares), and including using standard units, square centimetres (cm2) and square metres (m2) and estimate the area of irregular shapes

Calculate the area of a rectangle which is eleven metres long by 5 metres wide.

Which has the greatest area – a square with sides 6 cm long or a rectangle which is 7 cm long by 5 cm? How much greater is the area?

estimate volume [for example, using 1 cm3 blocks to build cuboids (including cubes)] and capacity [for example, using water]

Fitting it in is an activity to fill cuboid shapes with multilink cubes. It ends with a ‘create’ challenge that will test children’s knowledge in this area

Cube

solve problems involving converting between units of time

5 on the clock is a problem that requires children to be able to convert between 12 and 24 hour clocks confidently.

Clock

use all four operations to solve problems involving measure [for example, length, mass, volume, money] using decimal notation,

A day with Grandpa. Is an engaging problem using imperial units that challenges children's understanding of the concept of area rather than simply requiring them to follow a rule for finding areas of rectangles. These calculations should also help learners to see the advantages of the metric system as well as understand it more fully!

A video showing some interesting and engaging ways to teach a variety of measurement skills.