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Getting a good start in teaching metric measurement meaningfully Author(s): JOAN DOHERTY Source: The Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 23, No. 5 (MAY 1976), pp. 374-378 Published by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41191616 . Accessed: 10/06/2014 13:12 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Arithmetic Teacher. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 185.44.78.19 on Tue, 10 Jun 2014 13:12:09 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Getting a good start in teaching metric measurement meaningfully

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Getting a good start in teaching metric measurement meaningfullyAuthor(s): JOAN DOHERTYSource: The Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 23, No. 5 (MAY 1976), pp. 374-378Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41191616 .

Accessed: 10/06/2014 13:12

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Arithmetic Teacher.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.19 on Tue, 10 Jun 2014 13:12:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Getting a good start in teaching metric measurement meaningfully JOAN DOH ERT Y Associate professor of education, University of Missouri - Columbia

с 'J tudies of mathematics needed by people in all walks of life clearly reveal that some facility with measurement is needed by everyone. In the course of our lifetime, all of us will need to learn to measure many aspects of our environment. The problems of teaching the measurement process will be compounded as the United States moves to an expanded use of the metric system. Articles in past issues of the Arithmetic Teacher have presented ideas on the history of our progress toward metrication, advan- tages of the metric system, metric measure- ment terms, materials available, pilot pro- grams for developing plans for teaching the metric system in schools, and some ideas for classroom activities.

The concept of measurement is a subtle one, difficult to understand and to teach effectively. Pupils must learn to associate a number with a given quantity, and they must be able to deal effectively with the numbers they obtain from the measure- ment process. These are vital and necessary aspects of the education of all, whatever the system of measure used.

In general, the more people know about the metric system the better they like it. One of the major problems in the initial stages of the conversion to the universal use of the metric system will be helping teach- ers learn enough about it so they will feel comfortable teaching the new system. Young people are likely to be more recep- tive than their elders. Learning to think in a meaningful way instead of mentally con- verting from the customary system will be easier for those learning the metric system

as a first language. Teachers who have not had much experience with the metric sys- tem will probably want to take a more ac- tive part in the measuring activities of their classes until they themselves -become more familiar with the metric units* Pupils might even be favorably impressed with the teacher who acknowledges the shock of rapid change and tries to continue to learn in order to keep up with the times. Teachers will need to discover and learn with the pupils if they want to understand and like the metric system.

Letting generalizations grow from sev- eral concrete examples is commonly ac- cepted as sound practice in teaching arith- metic. It will be necessary for the school to provide many metric tools for measuring. Educators might want to encourage the lo- cal stores to stock basic metric tools be- cause these can frequently be bought for less money separately than when purchased in educational packages. Teachers may want or need to make soma of the items. Adding tape marked off with*the appropri- ate units and numbers can be made and used by the pupils. Examples of metersticks with oversize numerals can be made from poster board (about 20 centimeters wide) and displayed end to end across the top of a bulletin board or up the edge of a door for an ever-present reference to metric con- cepts. A creative teacher can develop many activities for the pupils to try.

STARTING POINTS FOR DEVELOPING METRIC CONCEPTS

1. The pupils can measure, record, and

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compare the sizes of many things within their environment. They can measure and record their growth (height and weight, length of foot, circumference of wrist, and so on) and the growth of plants and ani- mals in metric units. They can measure the sizes of rooms at school and at home. It might be helpful to recognize the interests and increasing sophistication of the older pupils by asking them to measure objects from their expanding environment such as the diameter of a bicycle wheel or the dis- tance between their house and the house of their best friend. The school might want to make metric tools available for students to check out for home use since few homes may own such items during the first few years of the conversion schedule.

2. The pupils can measure objects around the room - bookcases, chalkboards, desks,

crayons, and the like- maybe even placing tape labels designating their lengths on the objects. Pupils might want to work in teams to complete the measuring tasks. They could practice a division of labor, taking turns in recording and labeling and in doing the measuring and verifying.

3. The class or individual children could make a picture chart drawing something or finding a picture of something that is a specific size - 10 centimeters, 50 centime- ters, 100 centimeters or 1 meter, 5 meters, and 10 meters. Since it is more difficult to find objects of the longer lengths, it might be wise to choose measurements that are the approximate height of a door, the length of a bed, or the height of a basket- ball player. A variation on such a chart could be to list the objects that are approxi- mately the length stated. (Figs. 1 and 2)

I METRIC SYSTEM "^K~l How many objects can you find that are f r

^ 7 about this long? ^_^ p- ^- ^ ) '

/ГП~^|Е^^Ш ^_^

I ft I > ) ^ i $ il ****?*** i ft í ) ew

/ / / lì Я, к И г А ' 1 ìu < // / joy л к ■«• г i А 1 { J /

10cm ìu ' j jQ/ / (?) [ ^ - ~v^

/ • KOU>-KING n 'У J_L - " - ^V-l ^7 ( у^'У ' )

|

Fig. 1

May 1976 375

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METRIC MEASURING

How many objects can you find that are about -

10 cm long 30 cm long

Width of a greeting card A foot ruler

A light switch A floor tile

A playing card

A used pencil

Fig. 2

4. The pupils can make bookends, a de- sign, or a notebook cover using only met- ric measurements.

GAMES

1. "Find things within the room (on your walk home or on a walk around your neighborhood) that are approximately 50 centimeters long." The children would get points for each object found. They could get additional points if they could express the measure in more than one way.

2. "I'm thinking of an object that is more than a meter long and less than a meter wide; what is it?" One point could be awarded for each guess that met the qual- ifications but was not the particular object in mind, and five points could be awarded to the pupil who guessed the object. The pupil making the correct guess could make up the next exercise.

3. Individual pupils could carefully meas- ure several objects around the room and then challenge three other pupils to meas- ure the same objects. Points would be awarded to the players for closeness to the original measurement, if it is accurate, and the speed with which the players are able to complete the task. If players show that the original measure was not accurate they re- ceive additional points. Possibly this activ- ity would reinforce the need for more accu- rate measures and rechecking.

BULLETIN BOARDS

1. Pupils could be asked to search for examples of metric measurements in books, newspapers, or magazine articles. Clippings from newspapers and magazines could be displayed on the bulletin board and pupils could practice reading the numbers. Or the

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pupils could copy a sentence that included metric measures from printed matter or re- cord a sentence heard on television or elsewhere. Pupils could visit stores selling items from other countries, record the met- ric measures given on the labels, and draw pictures illustrating the wide use of metrics. Bulletin boards showing the relationships of each unit to other units could be con- structed by pupils.

2. Pupils could be asked to interview par- ents or other adults in the community to find out where they use metric measure- ments. Pupils would then record and class- ify the results of their interviews. A varia- tion on this might be to interview people in a single industry such as the construction industry, food industry, sports industry, or automobile industry to try to find the uses of metrics in that area. Since many adults may not have given much thought to this, it might be prudent to send a letter before the interview, listing the types of questions to be asked so the adults will have time to search for answers if they choose to become better prepared. Questionnaires to parents might be prepared, giving clues as to where they might help look for metric measure- ments. As an example, one question might deal with cooking. Getting others involved with metric measures as a family project might have side benefits.

3. Pupils could make a bulletin board of cartoons communicating the confusions re- sulting in a changeover to a metric system. Or pupils might find examples reported in customary units and show the correspond- ing metric units- the weight of a new-born baby in kilograms, barometric pressure in centimeters, temperatures in degrees Cel- sius, distances in kilometers.

4. The class could make a bulletin board of problems. Individual students could make up problems, which would then be put in envelopes. The envelopes would be tacked on the bulletin board and pupils would sign their names on the envelopes when they had successfully completed the problem inside the envelope.

ACTION PROJECTS TO HELP EDUCATE OTHERS

1 . Some children might want to research the history of the metric system to tell their families or neighbors. Children might also want to work in groups constructing an audio tape; a comic strip; or a movie using songs, poetry, stories, designs, and the like to present to parent-teacher associations or civic and social groups.

2. The pupils might want to bring from home recipes using customary measure- ments and convert these to metric measure- ments. The pupils could then take the rec- ipe in metric units home to be tried - the test of success would be the taste of the food. Metric measuring tools might have to be loaned from the school to the home.

3. Pupils might take an opinion poll to determine how different groups of people feel about the new system, or pupils might inquire into problems connected with the changeover to the metric system. Pupils might also consider several alternative solu- tions for each problem, with the con- sequences of each solution analyzed as to the effect on different groups of people. Pupils might direct an advertising campaign, using leaflets and posters, that would help develop a favorable attitude to- ward change to the metric system.

4. The pupils might set up an experiment in which they tried to improve the attitudes of both a group that is basically favorable to the change to metrics and a group that is basically unfavorable, studying the need for approaching each in a different way and measuring and analyzing the results of their campaign.

5. Pupils might organize a school-wide poster contest in cooperation with mer- chants who would agree to display entries meeting certain criteria of quality. The posters would encourage understanding of the changeover to the metric system.

6. Pupils might want to organize to ex- plain the metric system to elderly people in nursing homes or living alone. Many el- derly people want to learn and would need

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to know those parts of the new system that they will be hearing and using, such as how to understand a weather report given in metric units or how to buy and cook food packaged in metric measures.

7. Advanced pupils might want to pre- pare lessons for tutoring younger pupils. Generally tutors learn more as they teach.

8. Pupils might want to take old arith- metic texts and convert the measurement problems to metric measurement problems,, building packages on different topics. This could save schools the expense of buying costly commercial packages.

GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START

It is essential that pupils understand mea- surement and be able to measure. It is especially essential that the schools prepare pupils to live in the world of the future where metric units will be universally used. It will not be easy to start teaching metric measurement meaningfully until teachers feel comfortable with the new metric con- cepts. It is absolutely essential, however, that teachers use and teach the vocabulary that conveys metric concepts, and that they select appropriate experiences that will en- able inviduduals to grow in their abilities to use the metric system.

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