Year 2 maths · Key Stage 1 · Measurement

Year 2 measuring, money and telling the time: a parent’s guide

Year 2 measurement is practical maths. Children measure length, mass, capacity and temperature in standard units using real equipment, compare and order what they find, work with coins and give change, and learn to tell the time to five minutes on an analogue clock. It is where number work is put to everyday use.

Standard units, money and time, explained

In Year 1 children measured with cubes, hands and containers. In Year 2 they switch to standard units, which are the same everywhere. Length and height are measured in centimetres (cm) and metres (m) with rulers, metre sticks and tape measures, mass in grams (g) and kilograms (kg) with scales, capacity in millilitres (ml) and litres with measuring jugs, and temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) with thermometers. Children estimate first, measure to the nearest suitable unit, and choose the right unit for the job: a pencil in centimetres, a door in metres, a bag of flour in grams or kilograms. Length and height can be measured in any direction, so a measurement might run across a table, up a wall or from corner to corner of a book.

Reading scales is a skill of its own. Before a child can read a jug or a thermometer, they have to work out what each small mark is worth, which usually means counting in twos, fives or tens along the scale. Once they have measured, they compare and order lengths, masses and capacities and record the results with the signs >, < and =, for example 45 cm > 38 cm. They also meet simple comparisons using multiples, such as “this ribbon is twice as long as that one” or “the small tree is half as tall”.

Money begins with recognising coins and notes and using the symbols £ and p. Children make an amount in different ways, so 63p might be one 50p, one 10p, one 2p and one 1p, or three 20p coins, one 2p and one 1p. They add and subtract money, and give change, in practical situations. Amounts are kept in the same unit, so problems are written in pence or in pounds but not usually both together, and children record pounds and pence separately rather than mixing them in one number.

Telling the time uses an analogue clock. Children read o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to, and then to the nearest five minutes, counting in fives round the clock face. They write times in words, such as “twenty past four” or “quarter to six”, and draw hands on a clock face to show a time. They learn that there are 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day, and they compare and sequence intervals of time, deciding which activity took longer, or putting the events of the day in order.

Words your child will hear

Estimate: A sensible guess before measuring, such as “about 20 centimetres”.
Capacity: How much a container holds, measured in millilitres or litres.
Mass: How heavy something is, measured in grams or kilograms.
Degrees Celsius: The unit for temperature, written °C. Water freezes at 0°C.
Change: The money you get back when you pay with more than the price.
Analogue clock: A clock with a face and hands. The short hand shows the hour and the long hand shows the minutes.
Interval: The amount of time between two moments, such as 15 minutes or one hour.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 2, pupils should be taught to:

Choose and use appropriate standard units to estimate and measure length/height in any direction (m/cm); mass (kg/g); temperature (°C); capacity (litres/ml) to the nearest appropriate unit, using rulers, scales, thermometers and measuring vessels
Compare and order lengths, mass, volume/capacity and record the results using >, < and =
Recognise and use symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p); combine amounts to make a particular value
Find different combinations of coins that equal the same amounts of money
Solve simple problems in a practical context involving addition and subtraction of money of the same unit, including giving change
Compare and sequence intervals of time
Tell and write the time to five minutes, including quarter past/to the hour and draw the hands on a clock face to show these times
Know the number of minutes in an hour and the number of hours in a day

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example

A pencil costs 35p and a rubber costs 28p. Find the total cost. Sam pays with a 50p coin and a 20p coin, which is 70p. How much change does he get? Show one way to pay the total exactly.

Add the prices. Add the tens of 28 first: 35 + 20 = 55. Then add the 8 ones: 55 + 8 = 63.
```
35p + 20p = 55p
55p + 8p = 63p
```
Find the change from 70p by counting up from the total. From 63p to 70p is 7p.
```
63p --+7p--> 70p
```
Check by subtracting: 70p − 63p = 7p. The two methods agree.
Show one way to pay 63p exactly. 50p + 10p makes 60p, then 2p + 1p makes 63p. Another way is 20p + 20p + 20p + 2p + 1p. There is more than one right answer.
```
50p + 10p + 2p + 1p = 63p
```

The total is 63p and the change from 70p is 7p.

Common mistakes and how to help

Measuring from the end of the ruler instead of from 0

Many rulers have a small gap before the 0 mark. A child lines the object up with the end of the ruler, or begins counting at 1, and the length comes out too long.

What helps: Look together at where the 0 is. Slide the object so one end is on the 0 and read where the other end finishes. Practise estimating first, so a wild answer stands out.

Comparing the numbers but ignoring the units

Faced with a 500 ml bottle and a 2 litre jug, a child says the bottle holds more because 500 is bigger than 2.

What helps: Make the comparison physical. Fill the bottle and pour it into the jug, and see how many bottles the jug takes (it is 4). Always ask “500 what?” so the unit is part of the number.

Reading the hour hand wrongly at half past

At half past 4 the hour hand sits halfway between the 4 and the 5. A child sees it near the 5 and says “half past 5”.

What helps: Say that the hour hand has not reached 5 yet, so the hour is still 4. Use a real clock and watch how the hour hand creeps round as the minute hand goes round.

Writing money with both symbols, such as £65p

Children see £ on the shop sign and p on the price label and want to use both.

What helps: Pick one unit for the whole amount and write 65p. Practise with coins in front of you, so that each coin shows its own value.

How to help at home

Estimate, then measure. Choose a few household objects and ask your child to guess their length in centimetres before using a ruler or tape measure. Order the results from shortest to longest and write the comparisons with > and <.
Pour and weigh. Use a measuring jug to find out how many cups of water fill a bowl, or compare the mass of a few small items on kitchen scales. Notice what each mark on the scale is worth before reading it.
Play shops with real coins. Stick prices on a few items and let your child pay, count the change and find two or three different combinations of coins for the same price.
Name the time at five-minute steps. Ask for the time on an analogue clock at points through the day, and sometimes show a time and ask your child to set the hands. Compare how long jobs take, such as getting dressed against brushing teeth.
Read an outdoor thermometer. Check the temperature each morning, write it in a table and talk about whether it is warmer or colder than yesterday. Use the word “degrees” each time.

Builds on

Year 1: Length, mass, capacity, time and money

Leads on to

Year 3: Length, mass, money and time

Everything in Year 2 maths

Updated 20 October 2026.