National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Noodling Around: Powers of Ten
How many noodles long is your classroom? Find out when engineers of all ages explore measurement through the use of pool noodles. With the noodles pre-cut to certain metric lengths, the activities could be used to introduce the metric...
Teach Engineering
What is a Nanometer?
Teams learn about the size of a nanometer by measuring objects and converting those measurements. A learning exercise then tests the groups' abilities to use nanometers by having them determine the size of objects that are too small to...
Illustrative Mathematics
Paper Clip
With minimal setup and maximum freedom, young geometers are encouraged to think outside the box on a seemingly simple application problem. Though the task seems simple, measuring a given paper clip and finding how many 10 meters can...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Shrink Me!
The incredibly shrinking meter—decimeters to centimeters, to millimeters, and now to nanometers! Learners may have a difficult time visualizing particles on a nanoscale. Help them see a little clearer using a well-designed lesson...
Curated OER
Ant and Elephant
Have you ever wondered how many ants make up an elephant? Inquisitive minds will be amazed as they use scientific notation to compute and compare the mass of an elephant to an ant. Have participants make guesses and see how close they...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Scale Models
With instructions to adapt the activities for any grade K-12, any teacher can incorporate the concept of scale into the classroom with a simple, yet effective lesson.
Exploratorium
Tired Weight
You don't need a scale to determine weight. This activity provides a way to use the concepts of air pressure and surface area to determine the weight of a vehicle by calculating the amount of weight each tire supports.
Exploratorium
Tired Weight
Take your class out to visit your automobile and use the tires to compute the weight of the vehicle. This is done by measuring the surface of the tire meeting the ground and the air pressure. This is a fun lesson in the relationship...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
What’s In Your Neighborhood?
Chart your way to an understanding of nanoscale. Using a Google map, learners estimate a radius around their location of 1,000 and 1,000,000 meters. Predicting what 1,000,000,000 meters would look like takes them off the charts!...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Micro and Macro World Around Us
Don't let your eyes play tricks on you ... use scale to keep your eyes in check! Young scholars observe images without scale and try to identify the structure. Then, they look at the same image with a scale bar and assess whether their...
101 Questions
Retina Display
Learners calculate the pixel density of a specific cell phone using the concept of similarity. They use information from the cell phone's website to make their calculations and then compare their results to the posted information.
Exploratorium
Resonator
Construct a demonstration apparatus for your lesson on resonance. Instructions are provided here to assemble dowels and balls into swinging objects that have different frequencies. It is a neat visual to include during your lecture if...
Math Is Fun
Math Is Fun: Metric Length
The different units used to measure metric length are described, with comparisons to real world objects. A wonderful number line also shows the relative sizes of things all the way from a quark to the universe in powers of ten.
Math Is Fun
Math Is Fun: Measuring Metrically With Maggie
Metric units for volume, mass, length and temperature are explained to a cute little alien called Maggie. There are lots of real life examples for comparison that younger children will understand.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The Math Forum: Intro to Measurement for Primary Students
This site from the Math Forum is a great introduction to measurement for primary students. Each measurement activity has four components: interactive, manipulative-based project; technology; paper/pencil practice; literature connection.
![American Chemical Soc.: Best of Wonder Science: Measure Yourself in Metric [Pdf] Activity](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "American Chemical Soc.: Best of Wonder Science: Measure Yourself in Metric [Pdf] Activity")
American Chemical Society
American Chemical Soc.: Best of Wonder Science: Measure Yourself in Metric [Pdf]
Activities where students take turns measuring their height, the width of parts of the hand, and the distance jumped using metric units.
Other
Allmath.com: Metric Converter
Use this converter to find equivalent units for a measure. You can convert measures for area, length, weight, temperature, and volume.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Converting English Lengths
Practice converting lengths from one British unit to another. Use your calculator if you need to.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Give an Inch, Take a Foot
Students practice measuring techniques by measuring different objects and distances around the classroom. They practice using different scales of measurement in metric units and estimation. Also, students learn how measurement is used in...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Nctm: Figure This: Math Challenges for Families
Students, teachers, and parents alike will enjoy this challenging math site. It contains a clever brain teaser section plus creative problems related to algebra, geometry, measurement, numbers, statistics, and probability. A Spanish...
SRI International
Performance Assessment Links in Science: Tree Study (Lesson)
For this fourth grade performance task, students measure tree leaves using metric units and make predictions about the length of other leaves on the tree. They also suggest other good questions they might ask about trees in the school...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Activity: Identifying a Solid Using Density
Students will measure the length, diameter, and mass of twelve cylinders made of the same element. The first set of measurements are made with a standard metric ruler and 0.1g balance. The measurements are then repeated using a Vernier...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Robot Wheels!
Students solidify their understanding of the terms "circumference" and "rotation" through the use of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics components. They measure the circumference of robot wheels to determine how far the robot can travel during...