Learning Links
Biorhythms / Circular Motion / Sound Waves / Scale Drawing / Light / Recipes / Sewing / Electricity / Drafting / Unit Pricing / Constriction / Sports / Meteorology / Latitude and Longitude / Seismograph
Related Concepts
Maximum/Minimum / Trigonometry / Perimeter / Nonstandard Units / Area / Mass / Time / Metric / Customary Units / Volume / Angle / Money / Vectors / Dimensions / Weight / Rate / Temperature / Area Bounded by a Curve
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Conserve mass, length, area, and volume.
• Compare and order mass, length, area, and volume.
• Develop concepts of length, capacity, weight, mass, area, perimeter, volume, time, temperature, angle, circumference, and money through use of manipulatives.
• Use nonstandard and standard units of measure.
• Make estimates and measurements in solving problems using appropriate tools and units.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Extend the concepts of length, area, volume, mass, weight, capacity, time, angle, perimeter, money, circumference, and temperature using measurement tools and models.
• Determine the area of irregular shapes by subdivision using manipulatives.
• Develop, through investigation, the formulas for perimeter, area, and volume.
High School Demonstrators
• Determine surface areas and volumes of solids in solving no routine real world problems.
• Apply trigonometry to real world problems.
• Explore periodic real world phenomena.
• Investigate the concepts of rates, energy, and other derived and indirect measurements.
Sample Teaching/Assessment Strategies
Collaborative Process: Cooperative Learning, Peer Tutoring / Community-Based Instruction: Field Studies, Mentoring, Service Learning / Continuous Progress Assessment: / Problem Solving: Brainstorming, Inquiry, Formulating Models, Future Problem Solving, Research / Technology/Tools: Manipulatives, Computers, Video Production
These sample strategies offer ideas and are not meant to limit teacher resourcefulness. More strategies are found in the resource section.
Ideas for Incorporating Community Resources
• Interview building contractors to explain measurement as it applies to construction and cost.
• Observe and record the ways measurement is used by employees during a visit to a medical laboratory (e.g., T-waves on an EKG, or number of blood cells on a blood smear).
• Visit an amusement park to investigate application of laws of physics on various rides.
Core Concept - Measurement
Sample Elementary Activities
• Plan and plant a class garden on school grounds. Use seed charts to determine distance between plants. Plot temperature and rainfall each day. PE, P
• Measure a tabletop perimeter to the nearest decimeter and centimeter. Evaluate which measurement is more appropriate. PE, OE
• Estimate the number of large pizza boxes required to cover the playground, and determine a method to evaluate your estimate. PE, OE, P
• Order a group of objects by estimation of their weights. Use a balance scale to determine the actual order and compare predictions. PE
• Pour the same amount of liquid into two identical containers. Pour the contents of one container into a third container of different shape/size. Determine whether the containers hold equal amounts (conservation activity). PE
Applications Across the Curriculum
Variations on a theme: Sports
Language Arts
• Write and illustrate a book about how measurement is important in your favorite sport. PE, P
Science
• Prepare graphs to compare the areas of various sports fields relative to the number of players. PE, OE, P
Social Studies
• Investigate the influence of geography of a region on the development of sports playing fields. OE, P
Arts and Humanities
• Design a one-size T-shirt for your classmates to wear as a sports uniform. Determine if the average size is appropriate for all. Create a logo for the uniform. OE, P
Practical Living
• Develop a school-wide Olympics in which all students will participate. PE
Vocational Education
• Create a database to display information about sports injuries in children ages 5 - 18. Include gender, age, and sport. Show frequencies and correlations using computer-generated graphics. OE, P
Sample Middle School Activities
• Select a shape to represent one unit of area measurement. Use the unit to find the area of irregular figures (e.g., geoboards, grid paper, dot paper). PE, OE
• Demonstrate experimentally the volume of a cone compared to the volume of a cylinder with the same base and height. PE, P
• Use and explain three different methods for approximating the area of an irregular shaped playground. PE, OE, P
• Use similar figures or the Pythagorean Theorem to make indirect measurements (e.g., shadows, pinhole cameras). P
• Investigate the average number of kernels on an ear of corn. Compare findings with number of kernels found in the average serving of canned corn/popped corn. PE, OE, P
• Use a trundle wheel to investigate circumference and its relationship to pi by connecting one end of a string to a stake in the center and the other end to the axle support of the wheel. Compare the circumference of the circular path to the radius using various lengths of string. Record and explain results. PE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Write an explanation to this question, "If you measured an object with five different methods and got five different answers, how would you decide which answer is correct?" OE
Science
• Calculate the time it takes for light to reach the earth from the sun and the next nearest star given the distances involved. OE
• Calculate the average density of several types of stones. OE
Social Studies
• Pretend it is the mid-1800s. Research and share how measurement was important to the following professions: sailor, physician, explorer, and farmer. OE
• Research standards of measurement such as clothing and shoe sizes. What differences would you encounter it there were not "standards"? OE
Arts and Humanities
• Find the number of ways a piece of paper can be divided into two equal areas. OE
Practical Living
• Make a scale drawing of a classroom which depicts energy conservation measures. PE
• Prepare a recipe that includes using a variety of measuring techniques (e.g., liquid, dry, volume, length). PE
Vocational Education
• Estimate actual dimensions of a house given a 3-dimensional model with 1 inch representing 1 foot. Create a scale drawing. PE, OE, P
Sample High School Activities
• Measure the length of the parking lot at your school. Use a stopwatch to measure the time it takes to walk this distance. Compute walking speed. PE
• Determine the maximum volume of a container formed by cutting squares from the comers of grid paper and folding to make a box. Use models, charts, and graphs of the function to determine the maximum measurement. PE, P
• Estimate the area between two curves. Use a graphing calculator to adjust your estimate. OE, P
• Investigate the relationship between the observation of a flash of lightening and a clap of thunder. Use the information to determine the location of the greatest electrical activity. PE, OE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Write and illustrate a book for children about a character who had no measuring tools. P
Science
• Use a laser to generate data to mathematically calculate the distance a student moves a wall using hand pressure. PE
• Develop an activity, to be used in a middle school classroom, to teach the concept of parallax. PE, OE, P
Social Studies
• Prepare a map of school grounds using an accurate measurement key. PE, P
Arts and Humanities
• Create a sculpture of a human head (self-portrait) using tools (calipers) to obtain and transcribe actual measurements. PE, OE, P
Practical Living
• Calculate and record the effect of different types of exercise on the heart rate. PE, P
• Determine the amount and cost of carpet and wallpaper needed to decorate an office. PE, OE, P
Vocational Education
• Measure the P-waves, QRS complexes, and T-waves on an EKG. Analyze the results. PE, OE, P