Teaching Measurement at the Middle School Level http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel Hello! I\'m Terese (Terry) Herrera, a math teacher of grades 6-10 for many years, and now a creator of online units for the NSDL Middle School Portal found at http://msteacher.org. Teachers have a lot to share with one another, so it seems efficient to provide a space for you to talk about your successes, great or small, in teaching math. Our students find measurement a challenge in all its forms--from using a ruler to finding volume to solving distance problems. So we\'re setting out measurement as a first topic. We\'ll recommend full-scale projects you can use in your classroom, but also simple problems that can start your students thinking. We hope you\'ll do the same--recommend lesson ideas that have worked for you. Fri, 29 Sep 2006 22:59:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 en 2. Ideas to Share http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/06/02/ideas-to-share/ http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/06/02/ideas-to-share/#comments Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:30:58 +0000 Terese Herrera http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/06/02/ideas-to-share/
  • What topics in measurement are your students struggling with?
  • Have you found measurement difficult to teach?
  • What lessons would you like to find? [Someone out there may have a tip to share!]
    • ]]>     http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/06/02/ideas-to-share/feed/     1. Measuring up http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/05/31/measuring-up/ http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/05/31/measuring-up/#comments Wed, 31 May 2006 21:45:09 +0000 Terese Herrera http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/measuringmiddlelevel/2006/05/31/measuring-up/ “Middle school teachers tell us that there are important practical skills and understanding that students need before they engage in the abstractions of algebra. These skills are found in the blurry area where measurement, basic geometry, and the arithmetic of decimals and fractions come together in the real world. To move forward mathematically, middle school students need hands-on experiences with measuring, using scale and proportionality, and estimating with benchmarks.

    A class measurement project can wrap together many important components of mathematics learning into a very memorable experience. Who can forget measuring their school gym to see how many pennies it could hold or finding the volume of the community swimming pool to see how many ping-pong balls it would take to fill it? A class measurement project allows students to first make choices about which tools and units to use, and then to do the measuring, use the data to find an answer, and communicate results. They apply measurement skills and concepts to solve everyday questions that can involve estimation, decimals, fractions, and proportional reasoning. A solid foundation in measurement in the middle school years enables students to think about their world in quantitative, geometric terms and see the usefulness of mathematics.”

    (Attributed to Judy Spicer, Mathematics Education Specialist at the Ohio Resource Center, from her online publication on Measurement: Sliced and Diced at http://msteacher.org/epubs/math/math1/math.aspx)

    Have you found measurement projects that your students enjoyed?

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