Open-ended Questions and Hands-On Activities

Teachers can use the printable open-ended questions and hands-on activities to get students thinking about measurement concepts.

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Approximating the Circumference and Area of a Circle http://mathforum.org/geopow/solutions/19970926.geopow.html

If you have students who think they know everything about area, perimeter, circles, and pi, make a copy of this Geometry Problem of the Week and see what they can figure out. MSP full record

Breaking away from the math book: creative projects for K-8 http://www.math.nmsu.edu/breakingaway/index.html

These 37 hands-on lessons, available in English and Spanish, offer a nice mix of visual activities that focus on important math concepts for grades K-8. In one of the featured lessons, students determine the volume of a Chinese calendar made of wooden slats. In another lesson, students investigate the relationship between the weight of a banana and its peel. MSP full record

Wacky ruler http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games/measurement/index.html

Here's a good starter activity for students who lack the most fundamental understanding of measurement. They print out a "wacky ruler" and a page that features eight wiggly pink worms. The model ruler is marked with two, four, and seven units. Students can enter their measurements online to check their accuracy. MSP full record

Measuring (Const) http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=698

These six worksheets introduce students to fractional units on a standard ruler and millimeters on a metric ruler. There is also a short, colorful PowerPoint slide show that demonstrates the fractional parts of an inch. MSP full record

Measure a picture, number 1: inch, half, quarter of an inch http://www.ltsa.org/pdfrules/R_Ruler_Prob-1.pdf

This student worksheet is the first in a series of five worksheets offering practical experience reading units on a ruler. MSP full record

Measuring maze http://www.ncpublicschools.org/workforce_development/technology/activities/maze.html

With this activity, students apply their measuring skills to create a maze by drawing a series of lines of given lengths and directions. MSP full record

Visualizing the Metric System http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58387.html

How can you make the metric system more understandable for your students? Tell them to think of a gram as the mass of a jelly bean and a liter as one quart. This list can help students retain a visual picture to approximate various metric units. MSP full record

National Institute of Standards and Technology metric pyramid http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/kids/metricpyramidfinal1.pdf

Take the mystery out of the metric system by having students create their own reference tool. They can use this paper cutout to make a 3-D pyramid printed with metric conversion information for length, mass, area, energy, volume, and temperature. MSP full record

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Copyright November 2004 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.