MATHEMATICS GRADE 4

TOPIC: LENGTH

CONCEPTS & SKILLS TO BE ACHIEVED:

By the end of the lesson learners should know and be able to:
o Measuring of 2-D shapes and 3-D objects by, estimating, measuring, recording
comparing and ordering using measuring instruments, rulers, tape measures.
o Convert units: millimetres (mm), centimetres (cm), metres (m), kilometres (km).
o Do calculations and problem-solving related to length.

RESOURCES: DBE Workbook, Sasol-Inzalo book, Textbooks

Indicates notes to teacher and/or learners

Icon for the teacher

Icon for the learner

DAY 1

INTRODUCTION:
People need to be able to agree on how big things are. If this cannot happen, it will be
very difficult to build houses or roads and many other things we need. This means we
have to be able to measure things.

ACTIVITY 1:
Work through the activity and answer the question in your classwork book. First try to answer
all the question before you check your answers in the memorandum at the end of this lesson.

1. Which of the following pairs of things is longer?

(a) the height of the front door of your house or the length of your desk?
(b) the width of a classroom door or the width of the chalkboard?
(c) the length of your forearm or the length of you pencil?

2. What did you do to find the answers to question 1? Write down your answers.

3. How can you find out what the length of this grey line is? Discuss your idea with
somebody else.

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 1 of 18

Length
(Draft)
4. Give two examples from everyday life where you would measure:
(a) length (b) distance (c) height

(d) width (e) depth

In all of the comparisons you made in question 1, you could only tell which object or
distance is longer. You were not able to tell how much longer it was.

5. Which is longer, the pencil or the matchstick?

It is quite easy to see that the pencil is longer than the matchstick. However, we need
another way to compare them if we want to be more exact.

6. Themba says: “The pencil is 4 times as long as the matchstick.”

(a) Is Themba correct?
(b) How can you find out if Themba is correct, without using a ruler?
(c) How can you find out if Themba is correct by using a ruler?

Themba did this:

Matchsticks are used above to measure the length of the pencil. We say that the
matchstick is the unit of measurement.
However, not all people will use a matchstick as a unit of measurement, or some peoples
matchsticks may be shorter or longer than others.
So we need a standard unit of measurement, which is a unit that everyone can use and
that is always the same length.

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Length
(Draft)
CLASSWORK
ACTIVITY 2: STANDARD UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT:
To ensure that we all measure accurately and with the same units, we use a system
called the International System of Units (SI). We call these units the standard units

A centimetre (cm) is one of the parts if 1 m is divided into 100 equal parts. There are 100 cm in 1 m

A millimetre (mm) is one of the parts that is formed when 1 m is divided into 1 000 equal parts. The
Milli- in millimetre means thousandth.1 000 mm = 1m

There are 10 mm in 1 cm. 10 mm = 1cm

A kilometre (km) is 1 000 times as long as 1 m. 1 000 m = 1 km

Kilo- in kilometre means thousand

Most rulers have centimetres (cm) and

millimetres (mm) as their units. We use rulers
to measure shorter lengths such as the
length of a book or the length in a
geometric figure.

On measuring tapes you will see millimetres, centimetres and metres (m). We use measuring
tapes to measure longer lengths, such as the height of a person or the length of a skirt. For
even longer distances, such as the length of a wall in a building, there are builder’s tape
measures and surveyor’s tape measures.
Now look at the ruler below. There are 1 cm spaces on the ruler.

1. Which of the units will you use if you have to measure the length of each of these objects?
(a) the length of your classwork book
(b) the length of the classroom
(c) the thickness of your pencil
(d) the distance between two towns

2. Now use some of the objects that you named in questions 3 to 6 to help you estimate the
following:
(a) Estimate how long your thumb is.
(b) Estimate how long your desk is.
(c) Estimate how wide the distance is between two desks in your classroom.

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 3 of 18

Length
(Draft)
CONSOLIDATION:
REMEMBER THAT:
1 cm = 10 mm.
100 cm = 1m
10 mm 10 mm 10 mm
1 000 mm = 1m
1 kilometre (km) is 1 000 times as long as 1 m - 1 000 m = 1 km

HOMEWORK:

Look at the picture of the ruler.

Each centimetre space is divided into 10 equal smaller spaces. So, every centimetre
is divided into tenths of a centimetre. This means that the space of 1 cm is the
same length as the space that is 10 mm long. You already know that 1 cm = 10 mm.

1. Name three objects that are about the length of a

centimetre. (Hint: look at your hands or look around in the
classroom.)

2. Name three objects that are about 10 cm long or wide.

3. Name three objects that are about 30 cm long or wide.

4. Name an object that is about 30 cm long and 20 cm wide.

DAY 2

Lesson development

MEASURING SHORT LENGTHS ACCURATELY.

ACTIVITY 1:

1. Kholeka measures the length of the blue bar below

(a) Kholeka says the blue bar is 4 cm long. Is she correct?

(b) If 4 cm is wrong, give the correct answer and explain to Kholeka what she did wrong.

2. Luke measured the length of the blue bar like this:

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 4 of 18

Length
(Draft)
 He says it is almost 3 cm long.
(a) Is Luke correct?
(b) Explain your answer.

3. Explain in your own words how you will measure the length of an object like the blue
bar accurately.
4. What is the length of the green bar?

The easy correct way to use the ruler is to put one end of the object that you measure on the 0
mark of the ruler. Read the measurement where the other end of the object is.

5. (a) What is the length of this red bar?

(b) How did you find the answer?

6. (a) What is the length of this grey bar in millimetres?

(b) What is the length of the grey bar in centimetres?

We can also record the length of an object with a combination of two different units.
The length of the grey bar in question 6 can be given as 5 cm and 5 mm, or 51 cm.
2

The bar above is more than 5 cm but less than 6 cm long.

It is 7 mm longer than 5 cm. We can therefore say that the bar is 5 cm and 7 mm. Or
we can record it as 57 mm.

7. Discuss with one or two classmates why we can also record the length of the purple bar as
57 mm.

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 5 of 18

Length
(Draft)
CLASSWORK:
1. First estimate the centimetre length of each of the bars. Then measure each bar with your
ruler. Complete this table.
B
LG

P
DG

Ba Est M R
r im ea
at sur
ed ed
le le
ng ng
ths ths
Re
d
(R)
Bl
ue
(B)
Pu
rpl
e
(P)
Lig
ht
gr
ee
n
(L
G)
Da
rk
gr
ee
n
(D
G)
Gr
ey
(G
)
Grade 4 Lesson Plan

Length
(Draft)
HOMEWORK:
1. Estimate the lengths below and then measure them.

(a) First discuss with a friend how you can use a piece of string to measure the lengths.
(b)Complete this table.
Object Estimated length Measured length
The length of the purple curved
bar (P)
The length of the green curved
bar (G)
The distance around the red
circle.
 DAY 3
Lesson development
WRITING LENGTHS IN DIFFERENT UNITS
Let us see this in aalready
You table: know the following:
Below is a table of standard
 There are 10 metric unitsinfor
millimetres measuring length. Each unit of a higher power is
1 centimetre.
ten times thevalue
There ofare
an adjacent unit of in
100 centimetres a lower power. Learners can use a table like the one
1 metre.
below to do conversions.
 There are 1 000 metres in 1 kilometre.

10 10 10 ÷ 10
÷ ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ ÷

Kilometre Hectametre Decametre Metre Decimetre Centimetre Millimetre

(km) (hm) (dam) (m) (dm) (cm) (mm)
example 6 0 0 0

6km = 6 000m
X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10

Learners simply follow these steps:

1. They write the number under the correct unit of measurement. e.g. 6km
2. They mark which unit they are converting to.
3. If converting from a unit of a higher power to a unit of a lower power, they multiply by
10 each time they move to a unit of a lower power.
Example: 6 km = 6 × 10 × 10 × 10 m = 6 000 m [shown in the table]
4. If converting from a unit of a lower power to a unit of a higher power, they divide by 10 each
time they move to a unit of a higher power.
Example: 7 500 m = 7 500 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 km = 7 km and 500 m. 500 m ÷10 ÷10 ÷ 10 km = 5 km =
10
1
km.
2

Let`s convert 7 500m to km and m, and also in km in these columns:

Kilometre Hectametre Decametre Metre Decimetre Centimetre Millimetre
(km) (hm) (dam) (m) (dm) (cm) (mm)
example 7 5 0 0

So I write 7 500 in the columns:

7 500m = 7 km and 500m /or 7,500km (this is what we get)

5. Note, although Hectametre, Decametre and Decimetre forms part of the metric system,
grade 4 do not work with these units of measurement.

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 8 of 18

Length
(Draft)
Classwork activity:
1. (a) How many millimetres are there in 5 cm?
(b) How many centimetres are there in 20 mm?
(c) How many centimetres are there in 25 mm?
(d) What do you do to write a length which is given in centimetres in millimetres?
(e) What do you do to write a length which is given in millimetres in centimetres?
(f)Take a ruler and check your answers. Discuss this with a classmate.

2. (a) How many metres are there in 6 km?

(b) How many kilometres are there in 3 000 m?
(c) How many kilometres are there in 7 500 m?
(d) What do you do to write a length which is given in kilometres in metres?
(e) What do you do to write a length which is given in metres in kilometres?

3. Write the following lengths in millimetres:

(a) 2 cm (b) 23 cm
(c) one half of a centimetre (d) one fifth of a metre

4. Write the following lengths in centimetres:

(a) 50 mm (b) 2 300 mm
(c) 7 m (d) 72 m
(e) 5 mm (f ) 10 m

5. Write the following lengths in metres:

(a) 400 cm (b) 4 000 mm
(c) 1 050 cm (d) 10 000 cm

6. 1 342 mm can be written as 1 m 34 cm and 2

mm. Write 2 073 mm as m, cm and mm.

7. Write the following lengths in metres:

(a) 25 km (b) 14 km
(c) 3 1 km (d) 11 km
2 4

CONSOLIDATION:
Remember the following, you will have to know this for conversion between various units of
length.
10mm = 1cm
100cm = 1m
1 000m = 1km
HOMEWORK:
1. Write the following lengths in millimetres:
(a) 200 cm (b) 251 cm
4

2. Write the following lengths in centimetres:

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 9 of 18
Length
(Draft)
 (a) 550mm (b) 1500mm

3. Write the following lengths in m

(a) 55 km (b) 6 1 km
4
4. Write the following lengths in kilometres:
(a) 7 000 m (b) 26 000 m

DAY 4
LESSON DEVELOPMENT
MEASURING DISTANCES ACCURATELY.

For distances longer than 2m, a measuring tape or a builder’s tape measure works
better than a metre stick.

1. (a) You can use a builder’s tape measure to measure the distance from the door of the
classroom to the teacher’s desk. Write the distance in metres and centimetres. What
plan can you make if you do not have a builder’s tape measure?

(b) Estimate how far it is from the back of the class to the teacher’s
desk. Use your measurement in (a) to help you.

(c) Compare your estimate with the estimates of other learners. Discuss how much
your estimates differ.
Measure the distance from the back of the class to the teacher’s desk. Whose estimate was
closest?

(d) Work in pairs. Measure the distance around the class. Compare your measurements.
Discuss how much your measurement differs from other learners’ measurements
 A trundle wheel is a simple device for measuring distances
that are too long for a tape measure,
or that are not always in a straight line.
It consists of a wheel with a scale around its edge.
The wheel is attached to a long handle.
You can push it along the path that you want to measure.
Every time it completes a full turn, it makes a click.
To use a trundle wheel to measure distances, you need to know
what distance is covered if the wheel turns around once.

2. Which instrument will you use to measure the following lengths or distances?
(a) the length of the longest wall of your school building
(b) the distance around a soccer field
(c) the length of your pencil
(d) the thickness of a toffee
(e) the height of the door in your classroom

Rounding off
In mathematics, we often round off numbers to numbers that are easy to
work with. Rounding is a way of estimating. Numbers that
An approximation
are rounded off are approximations. is close to the
exact
number, a little more
or a little less.
Sometimes it is not necessary to give the exact number or
measurement, even if it is possible. For example: The annual school
fun walk has an exact distance of 5 km 346 m. If someone asked
you the distance of the fun walk, you will probably answer (about)
5km.

To round a number usually means to find a multiple of 10, 100 or 1 000 that is
close to the number. We say that we round up or down to the nearest 10 or
100 or 1 000.
Examples:
142 is closer to 140 than to 150, so 142 rounded to the nearest 10 is 140.
147 is closer to 150 than to 140, so 147 rounded to the nearest 10 is 150.
145 is the same distance from 140 and 150. “Halfway” numbers are usually
rounded up to the larger of the possibilities. So, 145 rounded to the nearest 10 is
150.

3. Round off to the nearest 100:

(a) 78 cm (b) 145 cm (c) 991 mm
(d) 56 072 km (e) 301 mm (f ) 23 450 km

4. Round off to the nearest 1 000:

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 11 of 18
Length
(Draft)
 (a) 1 991 mm (b) 6 072 km (c) 4 490 cm
(d) 2 500 m (e) 690 mm (f) 1 932 m

5. Mr Bengu is driving to Cofimvaba this weekend. The distance is 543 km. How far is the
distance to the nearest 100 km?

6. The course for the Comrades marathon race varies from year to year. In 2015 the official
distance was 87 720 m. But, there were road works on the course. So, the organisers were
forced to add another 877 m to the course. What was the total distance to the nearest 100 m?

CONSOLIDATION / CONCLUSION & HOMEWORK

1. Arrange from the longest to the
shortest: (a) 1 000 mm; 900 cm; 2 m
(b) 39 m; 395 mm; one quarter of a km; 100 cm
(c) 125 cm; 248 mm; 2 km; 500 m
(d) 449 m; 944 cm; 4 944 mm
DAY 5
PROBLEM-SOLVING MIXED EXERCISES
Classwork activity:
1. Mrs Tailor bought 5 m of material with a width of 2 m. She wants to make
serviettes. The serviettes are squares with side length 23 cm. How many
serviettes will she be able to make? Allow 2 cm for seams around each
serviette.

2. A skyscraper has 90 floors. Each floor is 3 m 50 cm high. About how high is the building?
3. Study the map and answer the questions:

(a) It is 1 398 km from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Round off the distance to the nearest
100 km.
(b) It is 749 km from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. Round off that distance to the nearest
100 km.
(c) About how far is it from Johannesburg to Kimberley?
Estimate the distance.
(d) About how far is it from East London to Bloemfontein?

Page 12 of
 (e) About how far is it from Upington to Bloemfontein? hint:

HOMEWORK
1.Jane walks 470m form home to school every day. Paul’s home is 580 m further than Jane’s
home.
(a) What distance does Paul walk from home to school?
(b) What distance does Jane walk from home to school and home again?
(c) What distance does Paul walk from home to school and back home again?
(d) What is the total distance walked by both in 2 days?

INTRODUCTION
ACTIVITY 1:
1. (a) Height of the classroom door
(b) Width of the chalkboard
(c) The length of your forearm

2. Learners’ methods will differ: accept all reasonable methods

3. Accept any reasonable answers. Learners place a piece of string along the line and then
measure the length of the string. They may measure it with finger or thumb widths, or use
matches: the line is just less than 2½ match lengths. Learners have measured in centimetres with
rulers in

4. There are too many possible answers to list all of them. Accept any reasonable answers.

5. The pencil is longer than the matchstick.

6. (a) Is Themba correct? Themba’s answer is an estimate

(b) Take a matchstick and measure the pencil with it.
(c) Measure the length of the pencil and the length of the matchstick. Divide the length of the

Page 13 of
 matchstick into the length of the pencil to get your answer.
Standard units of measurement

CLASSWORK:
ACTIVITY 2:
1. Standard units are the same all over the world. Non-standard units are not the same.
(a) centimetres
(b) metres
(c) millimetres
(d) kilometres

2. (a), (b), (c) Estimates will differ. Accept any reasonable answers.

HOMEWORK
1. Answers will differ. Examples include: the width of some learners’ fingers, width of some
pens, width of the ear of a cup, width of an AAA battery.
2. Answers will differ. Examples include: a cellphone, width of an envelope, width of a sheet of A4
paper folded lengthwise, width of some learners’ palms.
3. Answers will differ. Examples include: length of a ruler, length of an A4 sheet of paper, width
of a chopping board.
4. Answers will differ. One answer is an A4 sheet of paper.

DAY 2
MEASURING SHORT LENGTHS ACCURATELY.
ACTIVITY 1:
1. (a)No
(b) 3 cm. She should have started measuring from 0 or she should have subtracted 1 cm
(the beginning of the bar) from 4 cm (the end of the bar).
2.(a) No
(b) It is 3 cm long. The blue bar extends slightly past the 0 on the left. It stops just before the 3 cm
mark.
3.Put one end of the blue bar on the 0 mark of the ruler. Read the measurement where the end
of the bar is.
4.7 cm

5.(a) 5 cm
(b) Subtract 2 cm from 7 cm or count on from 2 to
7. 6. (a) 55 mm

7. Learners will express their reasoning differently but essentially 5 cm = 50 mm, so 5 cm and 7 mm
= 50 mm + 7 mm = 57 mm.

CLASSWORK:

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 14 of

Length
(Draft)
 Bar Estimated lengths Measured lengths
Red 10 cm
Blue 6 cm and 3 mm
Purple Estimated lengths will differ 2 cm and 2 mm
Light green 6 cm and 3 mm
Dark green 4 cm and 7 mm
Grey 8 cm and 5 mm or 8 𝟏 cm
𝟐

HOMEWORK
1. (a) Answers will differ
(b) Complete this table.

Object Estimated length Measured length

The length of the purple curved 9 cm and 8 mm or 9
bar 𝟖
𝒄𝒎
𝟏𝟎
The length of the green curved Estimated lengths will differ 15 cm
bar
The distance around the red 12 cm
circle.

DAY 3

WRITING LENGTHS IN DIFFERENT UNITS

1. (a) 50 mm
(b) 2 cm
(c) 2,5 cm or 2½ cm
(d) You multiply by 10.
(e) You divide by 10

2. (a) 6 000 m
(b) 3 km
(c) 7 km and 500 m or 7½ km
(d) You multiply by 1 000
(e) You divide by 1 000.

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 15 of

Length
(Draft)
3. (a) 20 mm (b) 230 mm
(c) 5 mm (d) 200 mm

4. (a) 5 cm (b) 230 cm

(c) 700 cm (d) 7 200 cm
(e) ½ cm (f ) 1 000 cm

5. Write the following lengths in metres:

(a) 4 m (b) 4 m
(c) 10½ m or 10,5 m (d) 100 m

6. 2 m 7 cm and 3 mm

7. (a) 25 000 m (b) 14 000 m

(c) 3 500 m (d) 1 250 m

HOMEWORK:
1. (a) 2 000 mm (b) 255 mm

2. (a) 55 cm (b) 150 cm

3. (a) 55 000 m (b) 6 500 m

4. (a) 7 km (b) 26 km

DAY 4
MEASURING DISTANCES ACCURATELY.

1. (a) Learners’ estimates will differ. The distances measured will also differ. Learners can measure
up to the end of their ruler or measuring tape, mark the point on the floor, write down the
distance and then start measuring at the mark from zero again. At the end, add up all the
distances.
(b) Learners’ estimates will differ.
(c) Comparisons will also differ from class to class.
(d) Guide discussions where necessary.

2. (a) Builder’s tape measure

(b) Trundle wheel
(c) Ruler
(d) Ruler
(e) Measuring tape

3. (a 100 cm (b) 100 cm (c) 1 000 mm

(d) 56 100 km (e) 300 mm (f ) 23 500 km

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 16 of

Length
(Draft)
4. (a) 2 000 mm (b) 6 000 km (c) 4 000 cm
(d) 3 000 m (e) 1 000 mm (f) 2 000 m

5. 500 km

6. Total distance = 87 720 m + 877 m = 88 597 m

= 88 600 m

HOMEWORK
First convert all measurements to millimetres, then arrange.
1.(a) 900 cm; 2 m; 1 000 mm
(b) one quarter of a km; 39 m; 100 cm; 395 mm
(c) 2 km; 500 m; 125 cm; 248 mm
(d) 449 m; 944 cm; 4 944 mm
DAY 5
PROBLEM-SOLVING MIXED EXERCISES
Classwork activity:
1. Allow 2 cm for seams around each serviette. You can cut 7 squares with side length 27 cm
along the 2m width (7 × 27 cm = 189 cm). You can cut 18 squares with side length 27 cm along
the 5 m length (18 × 27 cm = 486 cm). So you can make 7 × 18 = 126 serviettes (there will be a
little material left over).

2. There are several solutions (but only one answer). Learners could work out the height of
100 floors: 100 × 31 2 m = 350 m. The height of 10 floors: 10 × 31 2 m = 35 m. So the height of 90
floors = 350 m − 35 m = 315 m.

3. (a) 1 400 km
(b) 700 km
(c) About the same as the distance between Musina and Pretoria:
460 km
(d) About three-quarters of the distance between Port Elizabeth
and Cape Town: 560 km
(e) About the same as distance between East London and Beaufort West: 575 km

HOMEWORK:
1. (a) Distance from Paul’s home to school
470m + 580 m = 1 050 m

(b) Distance from Jane’s home to school and

back 470 × 2 = 940 m

(c) Distance from his home to school and

back 1 050m × 2 = 2 100 m

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 17 of

Length
(Draft)
(d) Distance both walk in one day
1 050m + 2 100 m = 3 150 m

Distance both walk in two days

3 150 m × 2 = 6 300 m

Grade 4 Lesson Plan Page 18 of

Length
(Draft)