Programme in Action
Tutors at a workshop in Hamilton used a hands-on measurement activity to help them build ‘pictures” in their minds of what a metre and a square metre look like.
By the end they had developed a range of measurement bench marks and made metres out of string and square and cubic metres with newspaper.
We started with a discussion about the bench marks they use in measuring length. Some used stride, some used their “eye-ometer” , and some use the fabric measuring metre method of shoulder to opposite finger tip.
Participants used this bench mark to estimate and create a paper square metre. Different people used different ways to decide whether they had in fact created a square. Eg. People who are sewers folded one triangle over the other using symmetry, builders checked that the diagonals were the same length.
The next stage involved making sure their measurements were accurate using tape measures. This ensured that they were building an accurate picture of a square metre, something very few of them had ever done! After this we covered an area of the floor with the squares to visualise the area.
The next step was to use six of the square metres to create a volume of one cubic metre and let someone leap out of the cube!!!.
Ideas Involved
The activity led to more open discussion with learners sharing what they knew and learning from each other. The hands on activity gave learners “pictures” in their minds to use for estimating size and having a feeling for reasonableness of accuracy.
This also helps develop a base for understanding the formulas for area and volume.