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Subject

Math, Science & Technology

Description

Length is a physical property measured in parts or multiples of the fundamental metric unit, the meter. A meter is somewhat longer than a yard. The most common units used for measuring lengths in daily events are the meter, centimeter, millimeter and kilometer. By participating in this lesson, students will be introduced to the final tool in their exploration of length known as the meter tape. They will develop their understanding of its usefulness by determining their body’s measurements with the appropriate metric units.

Duration

Approximately one to two 45-minute lessons

Learning Objectives

• Utilize a meter tape to determine the length of various body measurements
• Record and analyze data about their body measurements
• Create a graph to represent their data

  Materials

  AIMS Education Foundation Worksheet, SMART Board™, meter tapes and teacher-generated worksheets.

• Meter Tape Lab Data Sheet.doc
• Lab Report Rubric.doc



• meter tape lesson.notebook
• meter tape lesson.pdf

Procedure

• Students will complete their daily do-now activity which will consist of the following:
• Please copy homework into Passport and prepare for a lab activity by clearing your desk of everything except a pencil.
• Teacher will engage class in a discussion reviewing key concepts already covered related to length, the metric system and related tools used thus far to measure length by having students participate in the interactive activities found on page 2 of the SMART Notebook™ file through the use of the SMART Board™ .
• Students will then be introduced to the final tool for their exploration of length known as the meter tape with related interactive activity on page 3 of the SMART Notebook™ file.
• Teacher will show students the cloth meter tape used in hospitals and for clothing measurements and the common household meter tape made of metal, etc.
• Teacher will then model for students the proper technique utilized when obtaining measurements using this tool.
• Students will then be invited to participate in a lab activity in which they use the meter tape to determine their body measurements.
• Teacher will review the procedure for the lab with the students and related expectations-i.e. formal lab report requirement.
• Students will be divided into groups of 2-3 and will assist each other with using a meter tape to calculate to the nearest centimeter or millimeter the lengths of their various body measurements as indicated on the Meter Tape Lab Data worksheet.
• They will also compare the relationship between their height and arm span to identify their body shape with arms extended and record their data on the Are You a Square Page 1 worksheet. Each student’s shape will be identified, categorized, and represented in a whole class generated bar graph using the SMART Board™ and related SMART Notebook™ software to visually represent this data by using class collected data recorded on Are You A Square Page 2 worksheet. Graph template found on page 4 of SMART Notebook™ file will be used to visually represent class data of body types.
• Students will then participate in the interactive activity on page 5 of the SMART Notebook™ file as an additional assessment, and will be required to do a formal write up of this lab following established criteria and lab rubric.
• Teacher will introduce students to Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man with related historical background discussion and will, as an extension assignment, apply his theory to their obtained body measurements. Pages 6-8 of the SMART Notebook™ file can be utilized to meet this end as students prove or disprove his theory.

  Assessment

• Will be ongoing and consist of observation of proper measurement technique and use of tool, responses to questions posed on related worksheets and interactive SMART Notebook™ file, class discussions, student-generated graph, individual conferencing and formal lab report with rubric.

Related Academic Standards

New York State

NY-4.MD.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units: ft., in.; km, m, cm.

Know the conversion factor and use it to convert measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit: ft., in.; km, m, cm; hr., min., sec.

Given the conversion factor, convert all other measurements within a single system of measurement from a larger unit to a smaller unit.

Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table.

4.MD.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a twocolumn table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36), ...

MST3.4.M.2 Students use a ruler to measure to the nearest standard unit (whole, 1/2, 1/4 inches, whole feet, whole yards, whole centimeters, and whole meters.)

MST4.E.PS3.1 Students observe and describe properties of materials using appropriate tools.