The Longest Nose
Written by Jillian Cutting
Illustrations by Jenny Cooper
The Story
Different animals
compare the length
of their noses to see
whose is the longest.
Process
• Classify objects
by length
• Use different
methods of
measuring length
to understand
that there are
unconventional
ways of measuring
objects
• Do activities
to recognise the
importance of a
baseline when
comparing lengths
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Introduction
• Introduce the children to the words long and short. Talk about what
they mean. Tell the children to find something in the classroom that is
long and something in the classroom that is short.
• Talk about how to compare lengths to find long, longer and longest
(use a common baseline). Ask the children to put some pencils down
in order from the longest to the shortest. Ask them how they can tell
which one is the longest.
• Show the children the cover of the book. Ask the children what they
think the mouse is doing and what it seems to be holding. Ask them to
tell you what they think the book will be about.
• Read the title.
Which animals do you think have long noses?
How would you tell which animal has the longest/shortest nose?
• Go through the book together and name the animals. Before reading
the text, ask the children which animal has the longest or shortest nose.
Ask them how they know the answer.
Read the story together.
• Retell the story together by saying which animal had the longer and
shorter nose in each pair.
• Reinforce the concept of length with the children by comparing other
things such as length of feet, length of legs, length of toes.
Follow-up Activities
Measuring String
Give the children a ball of string and scissors. Each child cuts off a
length of string. When all the children have cut a piece, they lay them
on the floor and arrange them in order from shortest to longest.
Sorting
Children sort a selection of plastic animals into groups such as: the
longest/shortest nose, the longest/shortest tail, the longest/shortest feet.
© Wendy Pye Publishing Ltd 2011
Using the Online Activities
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3
Activity 1 – Which Fish is the Longest?
Find the shortest and longest fish underwater out of groups of three.
As a follow-up, children draw and colour a fish on cardboard. They cut
it out and order the class fishes from shortest to longest.
Activity 2 – Which Animal has the Longest Feet?
Which animal walking past has the longest feet? The footprints might
help children decide!
As a follow-up, children can cut out pictures of animals from magazines
and order them according to foot length. Glue them in this sequence.
Activity 3 – Number Cruncher and the Ropes
Number Cruncher has to cross the ploppy slop holes. Children help him
by choosing the right rope.
As a follow-up, give each child two lengths of string. One at a time they
hold the string coiled in their palms while other children guess which is
the shortest. Uncoil the strings to find the answer.
Game – Ladder Dragger
Children select the correct-sized ladders to help Number Cruncher cross
the gaps.
Other Activities
Making
Children make ladders with a given number of rungs using straws and
tape. Compare the lengths of the ladders.
Maths Concept
Simple comparisons
of length
Arranging items in
order of length
Maths Language
length
long
short
longer
shorter
longest
shortest
Writing
Children make books about things that are long.
Compare the Longest Jump
Children take turns at jumping from a chalked baseline. Mark where they
land with a chalk line and name. Compare the results.
Compare your Reach
In pairs, one child spreads their arms as wide as they can on the
chalkboard while the other marks their reach from fingertip to fingertip.
Compare the results.
© Wendy Pye Publishing Ltd 2011
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