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Order Three Objects by Length

Students will directly compare and order three objects from shortest to longest (or longest to shortest) by aligning them at a common baseline. Students use comparison language such as shorter, longer, and shortest.

How it is taught

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Length order goes from longest to shortest.

Compare the unit counts.

Read it: Put 3 in order

3 ribbons, lined up at one end. Number 2 stops first, so it is the shortest. Then number 1, then number 3, the longest.

  1. Line them up at one end.
  2. Find the shortest: it stops first.
  3. Then the next one, and the longest last: 2, 1, 3.

Lined up at one end, the far ends show which is longer.

The one that stops first is the shortest.

Longest first is the same order, read backwards: 3, 1, 2.

Line them up at one end. The shortest stops first; the longest sticks out the farthest.

Starting with the longest when the ask is shortest first.

Shortest first means the one that stops first: number 2.

3 sticks are 13, 8 and 10 cubes long. Which length is in the middle? — 10. 8 is the shortest, then 10, then 13: 10 is in the middle.

3 pencils — shortest to longest

Here are three pencils. Can you tell which one is the shortest? Which is the longest?

It's tricky to tell when they're all jumbled. Let's line them up at the same starting line.

Look — this pencil stops first. It's the shortest.

This pencil reaches the farthest. It's the longest.

And this one is in between — longer than the short, but shorter than the long.

So from shortest to longest, the order is one, two, three.

When we line objects up at the same start, it's easy to see which is shortest and which is longest!

Three pencils — which is shortest?Line them up at the same startstart lineshortestlongestin between123ORDER1, 2, 3shortest → longest
Grade 1 · Line them up to compare

What you see

While they climb, your page writes one true line to ask about tonight, and a short note each Sunday.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics
Did you know?

A chessboard has 64 squares — share them out between the 8 rows and each row holds exactly 8.

Today’s goal
1 star — one skill mastered, every rung of its ladder climbed
Climbing now
Divide within 100

An example student.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Maya earned 2 stars this week — Interpret multiplication as equal groups, which took 6 answers over 3 days before its star landed 3 days ago and Multiply by 6, 7, 8 and 9. Next up: Divide within 100.

An example week.

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