The children can practise using rulers and metre rules to record lengths of objects in the garden area. They can try converting lengths between different units of measurement. The children can also explore the link between metric and imperial measurements such as converting lengths in centimetres into inches. The class can use jugs to investigate the capacity of plant pots and other containers used in a garden.

Measurement Vocabulary
The children can practise selecting and using vocabulary to compare the length, mass and capacity of different natural and man-made objects that can be found in a garden area in the school grounds. Help the children make lists of objects to show their difference in measurements using the symbols for greater than and less than. The class can also practise using Carroll and Venn diagrams to compare and classify the measurement of things in a garden.

Non-standard Measurements
Some children can investigate the length, mass and capacity of objects found in a garden area in the school grounds. For example, the class could compare the height of plants in the garden against a garden cane or they could count the number of cubes that make a tower the same height as a flower. The children could also use bucket balances to compare the mass of things found in the garden such as pebbles and sticks by identifying their matching weight in cubes. The class could also compare the capacity of different sized plants pots by investigating how many cups could be filled from each pot.

Garden Lengths and Heights
The children can practise using thirty centimetre rulers, tape measures and metre rules to record the lengths and heights of different things found in a garden area in the school grounds. The class try converting the lengths and heights that they have recorded between different units of measurement such as the length of a plant stem in millimetres converted into centimetres. The children could try producing scaled drawings of flowers found in a garden area by measuring the length of petals and then doubling the measurements to scale the size of the flower.

Garden Masses
The children can try using kitchen scales and bucket balances to measure the mass of different objects found in a garden area in the school grounds. Discuss with the class how to read and interpret a scale correctly when measuring the mass of something or how to use masses in a bucket balance to record the weight of a pebble or garden tool. The children can also identify how to convert masses between different units such as converting the mass of a pebble in the garden from grams to kilograms.

Garden Capacities
The class could also try measuring the capacity of different plant pots in a garden area in the school grounds. The children could pour water from plant pots into measuring jugs to find their capacities. They can practise reading scales to find the capacity of something. The class also try converting capacities between different units such as the capacity of a plant pot from millilitres to litres.

Imperial Measurements
You extend the children’s understanding of measurements by getting them to measure lengths, masses and capacities in metric units before converting them into imperial measurements. For example, the class and measure the width of leaves in centimetres before converting them into inches or by measuring the mass of a garden tool in kilograms which can then be converted into pounds and stones.