Nobody ever said that learning measurements had to be a boring, complicated process. It’s important for students to know how to take proper measurements and the importance of measurement accuracy because measurements will always play a part in a student’s life. Check out these six creative ideas, and there’s a good chance that you’ll find something perfect for your classroom.
1. Make Their Own Rulers
Challenge your students by having them mark off their own rulers on a piece of construction paper. Bring some precision measurement tools to class and allow your students to use these as a basis for the rulers they create. This is an excellent way to show how measurement tools have to be based on standards that are deployed by official engineering bodies.
2. Use Creative Metrics
Teachers who’ve had some difficulty getting across the idea of scale can come up with their own creative measurements. For instance, they might ask their students how many crayons or decks of cards it would take to get from one end of a classroom to another. Once students have a clear idea of how these simple measurements work, they’ll be ready to move up to yards and meters.
3. Explore Digital Worlds
It’d be difficult to take an entire class out to look at the length of buildings and courtyards. Three-dimensional modeling software lets them explore them in the comfort of their classroom. Once they get used to gauging measurements on a computer screen, they can move on to working with physical materials.
4. Compare Human-Based Measurements
Countless measurements were, at one point, based on body parts. That’s why we call 12-inch units feet. Ask your students to compare their own feet and hands to standard yards or meters. Some might find that they’re much longer or shorter than the normal definitions of these measurements. This is also a great chance to explain the difference between metric and customary measurements, since meters aren’t necessarily based on any organic feature.
5. Write Out Estimations
Have your class guess the height or weight of some famous monuments. Once they’ve had a chance to imagine how tall a skyscraper really is, you can show them the actual measurement. Some classes might be surprised at how much bigger these structures are than their guesses. This gives students an opportunity to visualize measurements based on things that they’re already familiar with. Average weights of animals and even motor vehicles can be a great conversation starter, especially when teaching younger students who don’t have a frame of reference.
6. Use Simple Balance Scales
Inexpensive balance scales are a common feature of most classrooms, but you could use other tools, like a coat hanger, to emulate one. Some creative teachers have even done so by balancing a ruler on top of a wide pencil eraser. Regardless of how you elect to do so, you’ll have a chance to show students how objects of different weights interact with each other.
Math and science classes alike can use these ideas. Teachers with high school students could also modify them to teach more specific measurements, such as those used in physics or chemistry.
