Year 1: Long and short
Part of the Year 1 length and height chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Long and short
Some things are long. Some things are short. The length of something is how far it goes from one end to the other.
To compare two things, put them side by side with one end level. The one that reaches further is the longer one. The one that stops sooner is the shorter one.
With three or more things, the one that reaches furthest is the longest. The one that stops first is the shortest.
Key ideas
- Line up the starts so that you can compare.
- Longer means it reaches further.
- Shorter means it stops sooner.
- Longest and shortest are for three or more things.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is longer.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 8 cubes, B: 5 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.8 > 5
- Write the answer. A is longer.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and A is the longer one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is shorter.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 3 cubes, B: 6 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.3 < 6
- Write the answer. A is shorter.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and A is the shorter one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longest and tallest mean the biggest. Shortest means the smallest.
Method. Measure each one. The longest one has the biggest number.
- Measure each one. Count or read the length of each one.A: 4 cubes
B: 9 cubes
C: 6 cubes - Find the biggest number. Compare the numbers, not the names.9 is the biggest number
- Write the answer. B is the longest one.
Check. The other ones have less than 9. ✓
Watch out. Look at every one before you choose. The first one you see is not always the answer.
Watch out
Watch out: start the lines at the same place. A line that is higher up the page is not always longer. Check the far ends.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Use two strips of paper, or two pencils. Lay them side by side with the ends level, then ask: “Which one is longer? How do you know?”
Exercise 7A Longer and shorter
Non-calculatorKey words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is longer.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 6 cubes, B: 2 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.6 > 2
- Write the answer. A is longer.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and A is the longer one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is shorter.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 5 cubes, B: 8 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.5 < 8
- Write the answer. A is shorter.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and A is the shorter one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is longer.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 3 cubes, B: 7 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.3 < 7
- Write the answer. B is longer.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and B is the longer one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is shorter.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 9 cubes, B: 4 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.9 > 4
- Write the answer. B is shorter.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and B is the shorter one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longest and tallest mean the biggest. Shortest means the smallest.
Method. Measure each one. The longest one has the biggest number.
- Measure each one. Count or read the length of each one.A: 2 cubes
B: 5 cubes
C: 3 cubes - Find the biggest number. Compare the numbers, not the names.5 is the biggest number
- Write the answer. B is the longest one.
Check. The other ones have less than 5. ✓
Watch out. Look at every one before you choose. The first one you see is not always the answer.
Key words. Longest and tallest mean the biggest. Shortest means the smallest.
Method. Measure each one. The shortest one has the smallest number.
- Measure each one. Count or read the length of each one.A: 6 cubes
B: 8 cubes
C: 4 cubes - Find the smallest number. Compare the numbers, not the names.4 is the smallest number
- Write the answer. C is the shortest one.
Check. The other ones have more than 4. ✓
Watch out. Look at every one before you choose. The first one you see is not always the answer.
Key words. Smallest first means the shortest or lowest number comes first.
Method. Measure each one, then put them in order, starting with the smallest number.
- Measure each one. Count or read the length of each one.A: 7 cubes
B: 3 cubes
C: 5 cubes - Put them in order, starting with the smallest. Put the next one after the one before it.B, C, A
- Write the names in order. B, C, A
Check. There are 3 names in the question and 3 in the answer. ✓
Watch out. Check you have not left one out.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is shorter.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 4 cubes, B: 7 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.4 < 7
- Write the answer. A is shorter.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and A is the shorter one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is longer.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and B start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 7 cubes, B: 4 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.7 > 4
- Write the answer. A is longer.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and B start together, and A is the longer one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is shorter.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.B and C start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.B: 4 cubes, C: 6 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.4 < 6
- Write the answer. B is shorter.
Check. Look at the picture again. B and C start together, and B is the shorter one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Key words. Longer means it reaches further. Shorter means it stops sooner. Taller means it is higher.
Method. Line them up at the same start. Then see which one is longer.
- Line them up at the same start. Start both at the same place, so the comparison is fair.A and C start together
- Count the units to check. Count each one, one unit at a time.A: 7 cubes, C: 6 cubes
- Compare the two. Look at the far ends. The one that goes further is longer, and the one that stops sooner is shorter.7 > 6
- Write the answer. A is longer.
Check. Look at the picture again. A and C start together, and A is the longer one. ✓
Watch out. Do not judge only by where a thing is on the page. Line them up first.
Method. Ignore how high the ribbon is on the page. Look at the far ends.
- Look at the top ribbon, A. It is higher up, but it stops at 3 cubes.A: 3 cubes
- Look at the bottom ribbon, B. It reaches further, to 7 cubes.B: 7 cubes
- Write the answer. Aisha is not right, because B reaches further.No. Ribbon B is longer.
Check. Line the two ribbons up at the start. B goes further. ✓
Watch out. Being higher up the page does not make a line longer.
Method. Measure each one. Two of them match exactly, so they are the same length.
- Measure each one. Read or count the length of each one.A: 5 cubes
B: 5 cubes
C: 2 cubes - Find the two that match. Things with the same length are the same length.A = 5, B = 5
- Write the answer. A and B
Check. Compare each pair to check. Only A and B match. ✓
Watch out. Measure, do not guess from the picture.