In this article, Lindsey Fowler describes how an animal rhyme--that she shared with her fifth-grade students with the intention of assisting them with the concept of metric conversions--made fostering the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) more difficult. The addition of animals, which added an extraneous element that students mistakenly…

Using the triple beam balance to measure mass in metrics is just one of the many skills teachers want their students to master. The author has found a few effective and fun approaches to develop this skill over a couple of interesting days. With each activity, students are actively involved in the construction of knowledge: What is mass and how is…

By the time students reach a middle school science course, they are expected to make measurements using the metric system. However, most are not practiced in its use, as their experience in metrics is often limited to one unit they were taught in elementary school. This lack of knowledge is not wholly the fault of formal education. Although the…

Constructing model hot air balloons is an activity that captures the imaginations of students, enabling teachers to present required content to minds that are open to receive it. Additionally, there are few activities that lend themselves to integrating so much content across subject areas. In this article, the authors describe how they have…

This article provides a science lesson for the middle school level, the metric system is used for all methods of measurement. The example lesson utilizes edible fruit as the real-world focus and offers ideas for additional lessons and the integration of disciplines beyond mathematics. This lesson requires students to handle, examine, and possibly…