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…

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…

Authors have found that students have experience with metric units for volume and length; however, students have difficulty conceptualizing mass measurements in terms of grams and kilograms. Presents an activity, "Mass Appeal," where students use an equal arm balance to become familiar with the gram. (PR)