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Hand Span
Spread your fingers as wide as you can,
What you have now is called a hand span .
A hand span can help you to find out how big
Is the height of a cow, a horse or a pig.
Use your hand span very carefully and see
How many it takes to go right round a tree.
Now get a good friend and make this a game,
Compare if the number of spans round the tree is the same.
Next find an adult and compare their hand span too
To see if they use more or less spans than you.
Now write down the answers and think as hard as can be,
Why is it better to use a tape measure like me?
Why do this problem?
This is an engaging activity for the teacher to read out to young children as a start to exploring measurement and the need for standardised units.
Possible approach
Read the poem and after a bit of discussion encourage pupils to get involved in practical explorations.
Key questions
How many hands spans have you used?