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Grade 1 · Maths · Lessons
Longest and shortest
🪶feather✏️pencil🪢rope📏long
Longest and shortest.
The big ideaStart them at one edge to put them in order. A rope can compare two that can't meet.

How it works

To compare, start them all at the same edge.

The one that goes furthest is the longest. The one that stops first is the shortest.

If two can't meet, use a rope to compare each one.

Lengths024682feather8pencil5rope
Starting at one edge: the rope is the longest here.

Example 1: Put them in order

  1. Start a feather, a pencil and a rope at the same edge.
  2. The pencil goes furthest, so it is the longest.
  3. Next is the rope, then the feather.

Example 2: Shortest first

  1. Which stops first?
  2. The feather stops first, so it is the shortest.
  3. Put it first when you go shortest to longest.

Example 3: Things that can't meet

  1. A table and a door are far apart.
  2. Use a rope to measure one, then hold it up to the other.
  3. The rope lets you compare things that can't touch.

Words to know

longest
The one that is longest.
shortest
The one that is shortest.

Watch out

Try it

  1. Which is longest: a 3-block pencil, a 5-block rope or a 2-block feather?
  2. Which is shortest?
  3. Where do you start things when you compare?
  4. What helps you compare two things that can't meet?
Answers: 1. the rope · 2. the feather · 3. at the same edge · 4. a rope
For grown-upsPut three spoons or pencils in a row with their ends lined up and ask which is longest.
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