National Metric Week, each year, occurs during the week in which 10 October (i.e., 10/10) falls, thus carrying out the metric system’s decimal theme. National Metric Week provides an excellent opportunity for teachers to acquaint students with the metric system or to expand their knowledge about its usage, history, and importance in the world as the international system of measurement. However, these ideas do not have to be tied to National Metric Week and can be used throughout the year to teach the metric system.
The USMA website provides useful information on the metric system. Teachers and students will benefit by investigating the wealth of material available on this website.
General principles for teaching the metric system
Top priorities for teaching the metric system at any level include the following general principles supplied by Dr. William Hooper, a retired college professor who has successfully taught courses on the metric system to teachers and prospective teachers for 20 years:
- Stop teaching (and using) customary units completely. Teach only the metric system.
- Never teach conversion of units from customary to metric or vice-versa. It is a skill that will hardly ever be needed by anyone except a few specialists, and then only during the transition period.
- Teach measuring in metric by doing measuring in metric. Acquire metric measuring devices (metre sticks, kilogram/gram scales, Celsius thermometers, etc.), preferably ones that are metric only. If they are dual (showing customary also), cover up, cut off, sand down, or paint over the old customary scales.
- Use SI, the International System of Units, also called the modern metric system. There are many well-meaning people who consider themselves metric authorities but know only the older versions of the metric system (like CGS and MKSA) and who are not aware that some practices in those older versions are not acceptable in the SI. Don’t teach wrong practices that will have to be untaught later.
Ideas for acquainting students with metric units and suggestions for in-depth learning activities
A good hands-on exercise is to set up a series of tables:
- one for measuring length, with items that can be measured in millimetres, centimetres, and metres. Provide plenty of rulers and metersticks.
- one for measuring mass, with bags filled with rice, beans, or other dried vegetables; the bags should contain random masses to measure. Provide metric scales.
- one for measuring volume, with a variety of flasks or containers filled with different amounts of colored water. Provide graduated metric measuring cups or beakers.
Number each of the items to be measured. Develop a 2-column worksheet: One column labeled “guess” and one column labeled “actual measure”. Tip: Acquaint students with metric sizes; see the Commonly used metric system units, symbols, and prefixes section of this website.
Have students guess the size of a numbered item and record the guess on the worksheet. Then have them measure the item and record that figure before going on to the next item. By the time they’ve guessed a few metric sizes and determined the actual sizes, they’ll have gained a feeling for the sizes of metric units.
Students like to make their own “body rulers”. This helps familiarize them with length and mass (weight) units. Give students a form or card for recording the sizes of their body rulers, or use the sample questions provided on this website.
Using their “body rulers”, have students estimate the sizes of other things — books, pencils, desks, etc. — in the room, and then check them for accuracy with a ruler or tape.
To become familiar with longer measurements in metres: Measure the height of windows, the height of the door, and the height of the door knob. Measure the length and the width of the room. Then figure the area of the room in square metres. For very long distances, have the students guestimate the distance between buildings. Then award prizes for the closest guess.
To become familiar with volume measurements in litres: Fill a fish tank or other large container with colored water. Have students guess the volume of water, and award prizes for the closest guesses.
To become familiar with temperatures in degrees Celsius: Solicit volunteers to have their body temperatures taken. Record results. (The school nurse may cooperate by providing either sterilized or digital thermometers.) Have students read the Celsius room temperature and record it. Take a thermometer outside, allow time for it to adjust to the outside temperature, and record it. Have students write in words how the different temperatures feel (e.g., 20 °C feels comfortable, 14 °C feels chilly, etc.).
See the Temperature Measurement section of this website for more about Celsius and kelvin temperatures, including mnemonics to help the novice understand the Celsius temperature scale.
Crickets Chirping is a unique activity about temperature from a proficiency test given by the Ohio Department of Education.
You might want to know the temperature but a thermometer is nowhere to be found. You hear crickets chirping around you. Why not let them tell you the temperature?
To interpret what the chirps mean, count the number of chirps in one minute, then use the formula T=5+(n/8), where T is the temperature in degrees Celsius and n is the number of chirps made by the crickets in one minute.
If there are no crickets where you live, you’re out of luck.
[Reproduced from the May/June 1998 issue of USMA’s newsletter, Metric Today.]
In a showcase, perhaps in the school library, make a display of metric measuring devices as well as bottles and packages of foods labeled in metric units. You can add books with pictures of scientists for whom some of the metric units are named. For a backdrop, include a large map showing that the entire world uses the metric system, highlighting the three countries (US, Burma/Myanmar, and Liberia) that have not fully adopted SI. The USMA website can give ideas for things to include in your showcase, especially the Consumer Products and Metric Numbers to Remember sections of this website.
Suggested lessons in various subjects
- Art: Design posters and bulletin boards about the metric system, showing its advantages, listing rules for metric usage, etc. Submit a metric measurement themed Google Doodle. Draw metric comic strips. Design a metric logo for the United States (you can view other countries’ metric logos on the international section of this website). Design a mobile, integrating metric units and sizes in the design. Make a mural showing the history of the metric system.
- Consumer Education: Explore and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of converting to the metric system from the consumer’s point of view, such as easier unit price comparisons.
- Driver’s Training: Convert speeds, distances, and highway signs to metric units. Research what conversions the Department of Transportation now accepts. Write questions that could be included in a state driver’s test to evaluate a driver’s knowledge of metric units used in motoring.
- Economics: Describe the impact metric conversion has on US exports and imports. Investigate the time- and money-saving aspects of using the metric system in manufacturing products. The Published Articles section of this website can be a useful resource.
- Government: Investigate US laws governing the use of the metric system in this country. Gather evidence on whether these laws are being sufficiently enforced and whether additional legislation would be to the advantage of the United States. The Metric Laws section of this website can be a useful resource.
- History and Social Studies: Draw a timeline depicting developments in measurement systems throughout history. Give an illustrated talk on the history of measurement in the US or another country. Write a biographical sketch and description of major figures in history who contributed to the development of the metric system. Research use of the metric system in different industries and professions, such as medicine, architecture, science, highway building, the Global Positioning System, etc. The Published Articles section of this website can be a useful resource.
- Home Economics: Take body measurements in metric units. Have students measure their clothing sizes in centimetres. Research clothing sizes in countries that use metric measurements. Compute fabric requirements for draperies or carpets. Collect and display metric measuring tools and devices used in households. Research cooking techniques using metric units, then find (or create) a metric recipe and have students prepare it. Determine the capacity of punch cups by filling them with punch, then pouring into a metric measuring cup. Label the metric capacity of paper cups so students can get a “feel” for drinking that volume of punch.
- Industrial Arts: Measure standard pieces of lumber such as a 2×4, 1×6, etc., in metric units — and in inches, to understand the concept of nominal sizes. What would the nominal dimensions be in the metric system? Develop a set of plans for a birdhouse, etc., and then build the item, using only metric measuring devices. Make a map of the school using metric units.
- Language Arts/English: Write stories about daily activities using metric units. Create a glossary of metric terms. Make a list of things in the home and marketplace that display metric units. Write essays for a school or local newspaper on the advantages of the metric system and metrication; include economic, social, educational, and psychological aspects. Conduct competitions for the best metric poems, slogans, jokes, limericks, or songs. Have a “metric spelling bee”.
- Mathematics: Reproduce the problems in the Decimal Nature of the Metric System section of this website. Have students work on them and discuss the differences. This could evolve into a writing assignment as well. Develop your own problems to demonstrate the ease of computation with decimal fractions compared to vulgar (common) fractions.
- Physical Education: Have a Metric Field Day or Metric Olympics, with track and field events using the metric system.
- Science: Study and report on how widely the metric system is used in science. Write research papers on scientists who have metric units named after them and discuss the contributions of their work to science. Research the concept of “fundamental constants” and explain the importance of these constants in maintaining the integrity of measurement units.
Ideas for celebrating National Metric Week that can be used throughout the year
(Some of the following ideas and activities were provided by Don M. Jordan, PhD, of the University of South Carolina.)
Local merchants are usually willing to donate merchandise to schools for use as prizes in contests like those outlined below. For example, restaurants, movie theaters, groceries, and department stores might provide gift certificates.
In September, announce the planned National Metric Week contests or other projects so students will be looking forward to the celebration.
- Collect metric items (containers, measuring implements, scales, bumper stickers, descriptive posters and illustrations, etc.) and make a National Metric Week display in the school library, in classrooms, or in the school’s lobby. Or create a Metric Center: Collect and catalog significant articles, books, and pamphlets on the metric system to serve as reference materials.
- Conduct a school Open House or Parents Night sponsored by the Science and Mathematics Departments including a session on Why we need to teach metric first. Have the Science and Math Departments plan a metric in-service session for the school faculty. Devise a Metric Fair or Metric Olympics for your school with all metric events.
- Devise a series of questions about the metric system, or use the sample questions provided on this website, with prizes for correct answers (or for the first correct answer). Or hold a contest for guessing: (1) the number of kilograms that make up the mass of a specific school’s athlete; and (2) the height of the school’s principal in centimetres.
- Fill a large jar with candy and place it somewhere visible but secure, and give a prize for the best guess of the mass of the jar in kilograms. The prize could be the jar of candy (divided among the winners if there is more than one winner).
- In the school cafeteria, label a number of food items with their portion sizes in metric units. Post signs that show, in metric units, the approximate volume of milk sold in the cafeteria each day. List the approximate number of kilograms of meat ordered for use in the cafeteria each day.
- Generate a crossword or word search puzzle based on metric system terms and give a prize for the first student who solves the puzzle. USMA has examples on the Puzzles and Quizzes section of this website page.
- Give a prize for the best-written article on (1) Why the metric system is easier to use than customary units; or (2) How the metric system originated; or (3) Backgrounds of those for whom metric units are named; or (4) A brief history of metric-system conversion activities in the United States. Submit the best articles for promoting the use of metric measurement to the school or local newspaper.
- Hold a metric poster contest, giving prizes for the best metric-system-based posters. This contest would have to be announced well in advance of National Metric Week to allow students the time to develop the posters.
- Shopping assignments: Choose a product line such as food, cosmetics, drugs, hardware, medical devices, or sports equipment, and shop for items in that product line that have labels or descriptions in metric units. Report findings to the class. Give students an assignment to check their home and store shelves for product labels that contain incorrect metric system symbols, then have the student write a letter to the company pointing out the incorrect symbol, indicating the correct symbol, and explaining the erroneous meaning of the incorrect symbol. Provide a prize for the best letters, and post copies of the winning letters on bulletin boards or in the school’s newsletter or bulletin. Implement Metric Patrol Plan B. Give a prize to the student who brings in the most entries which contain the data listed on the Plan B worksheet.
- Metric before and after surveys: Conduct a survey of the student body and families of students to determine what people know about the metric system and how people feel about the ongoing conversion to metric. Then, after presenting reasons for conversion and answering objections by those opposed to conversion, reconduct the survey and see if attitudes were favorably changed toward the metric system.
Note: USMA invites teachers to provide reports on their National Metric Week celebration, for possible use in its newsletter, Metric Today. Also appreciated will be your notifying USMA if you have additional ways of celebrating National Metric Week.
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