LET'S METRICATE PARENTS, TOO!

LET'S METRICATE PARENTS, TOO!Author(s): Judith ThreadgillSource: The Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 26, No. 4 (December 1978), pp. 18-19Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41191553 .

Accessed: 13/06/2014 00:59

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Arithmetic Teacher.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.81 on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:59:30 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=nctm

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41191553?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


LETS METRICATE PARENTS, TOO! By Judith Threadgill

Metrication is a word that frightens many people. It implies change -

breaking old habits and forming new ones. When Timmy arrives home from school and joyfully announces that he now weighs 27 kilograms, he is more likely to be greeted with confusion than shared joy. As teachers, we admit that much of our learning of the metric system takes place during classroom hours when we, along with our students, are actively involved in measuring activities. But what is true for teachers can also be true for parents. One of the most painless ways for parents to adapt to the metric system is to learn it along with their children.

How does a teacher go about plan- ning a measurement unit which will include parental involvement? Recently a student teacher and I planned and con- ducted such a unit in a fourth-grade classroom. Parental response was more than enthusiastic. Several parents re- quested more activities, and many sent notes of gratitude for giving them the opportunity to participate. Although the unit included only linear measurement activities, it would not be difficult to expand the parental involvement to other areas. In the remainder of this article I would like to describe for you the home activities from our unit and

Judith Threadgill is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. She is currently involved in teaching elementary mathematics methods courses and advising masters students in mathematics education. She also super- vises student teachers, which provided the opportunity for the "metricating parents" project.

make suggestions for other activities which would generate parental interest.

About a week before the unit was to begin, each student carried home a letter explaining the forthcoming unit and inviting participation. Then, at each stage of the unit, preliminary activities were carried out in the classroom before an accompanying activity was sent home.

The purpose of the first home activity was to learn to estimate the length of a meter. Each student was given a string one meter long and an activity sheet to be completed and returned to the classroom. Eight objects which could be found in the home were listed in one column with length or width specified (e.g., the width of the front door). The second column asked for the parents' estimate to the nearest meter, the third column asked for the child's estimate to the nearest meter, and the fourth column asked for the actual measurement to the nearest meter using the meter string. Finally, the parents and child were asked to find one object in the home that was exactly one meter long or high. This permitted the family to have a standard in the home which they could use to gauge the length of a meter for future estimates.

After the children had been in- troduced to the centimeter through classroom activities, each student was allowed to take a metric tape measure home with the second activity sheet. Ten body parts were listed for measuring: around your head, around your waist, length of your foot, width of your hand, and so on. As before, col- umns were included for estimates by

both parents and child, and then, for the actual measurement to the nearest centimeter. (It might be noted that some mothers refused to be measured around the waist.) The exercise con- cluded with the request that each parent find one finger for which the width of the fingernail most closely approxi- mated one centimeter. This again allowed them to have a personal standard to use in estimating a centimeter.

The third major part of the unit, after an introduction to decimeters, involved writing a measurement in meters using decimal notation. Thus an object which was 2 meters, 7 decimeters, and 3 centimeters long would be 2.73 meters long. (The students had previously learned to read and write decimal numbers.) After extensive practice and measuring and making the necessary conversions in the classroom, the students took home the third and final activity sheet. Ten common household objects were again listed and measured. Parents were told that the measure of an object measuring 7 m 2 dm 8 cm would be written as 7.28 m . They were asked to measure the objects in meters, decimeters, and centimeters and to record the measurements as a combination of those units. They were then to rewrite the measurement in decimal form. The role of the child in this activity was to assist the parents. The purpose of this final activity was to help parents recognize the decimal basis of the metric system and the ease with which one metric unit can be con- verted to another. As with the second activity, students were allowed to bor- row metric tape measures from the classroom.

18 Arithmetic Teacher



At the conclusion of the unit, each of the twenty-six students carried a letter home thanking the parents for their co- operation and asking them to respond to a brief questionnaire. At least one parent in each family replied that he or she had participated in the home activities. All but two parents felt that the activities had helped them become more familiar with some aspects of the metric system. (One mother admitted that although she was now more familiar with the metric system, she still didn't care for it.) All parents replied that they would like to see such activities continued and all thought other parents could benefit from home activities on measurement. Several parents added comments to the questionnaire: "I enjoyed it and wish there could have been more."; "Could you send home more activities? We enjoy doing them together and learning together."; "Thanks to you, for letting me enjoy some work with Susan." In all fairness, the one negative comment should also be noted: "I did not appreciate having an assignment over the weekend."

The simplicity of adapting this unit to include home activities is obvious, since the only materials needed were a piece of string one meter long and a metric tape measure. Units on area and volume would also lend themselves eas- ily to home activities with a minimum of materials. Once parental coopera- tion has been established, it might be possible to induce parents to make some simple balance scales, and weights could be made in the classroom using clay or plastic bags of sand. Par- ents might be asked to buy a few metric measuring cups and spoons in order to try some metric recipes sent home by the teacher. The resulting goodies could be sold at a metric bake sale, and the proceeds used to buy other metric materials, such as Celsius thermome- ters for yet another home activity.

A little extra effort is required of the teacher to prepare activities for parents, but the benefits make the effort worthwhile. What easier way is there to obtain parental interest and coopera- tion? What easier way is there for parents to learn to metricate? And last but not least, what easier way do we have of changing the attitude toward metrication from one of fear to one of un- derstanding?D

December 1978 19

7 CR0WELL N lining Math Books

"First concepts presented cleariy and imaginatively" +

THE GREATEST {'JÈ*Êk) GUESSING GAME ^€ ™/ A Book About Dividing ^^""v^/*v^ By Robert Froman zZ^Jè^T) Illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi d^V^Sir Using everyday examples, the author ÜÄ^" >^5^ shows that division is like a game of ijgL.. - *"-jC'^4f^/f% -^ (fiflk estimating as evenly as possible and ̂ p>

ijgL.. - - - ¿Uv 'r*^ _-

-^ (fiflk 9^ "gives some very good ideas for using gì f V& what's left over."- The Horn Book. f f ' ' Gr. 1-3. $6.89* £ , jjk

YfCVin. ^T Ë&èSSÎs^Îi^-^J "Cartoon-style illustra- ¿rS^i VTA ^t* '"I^^*^^ tions include some clear S> 1 UP-OrU H*2uL«w T /ÊËËk diagrams that extend an Some Patterns in S 11|§BÊk Ì | fa»« equally clear text that Mathematical Logic /Ì ; ÜSpI ¡ PBH! introduces the concept By Judith L. Gersting W i

; i ¡ ÌK| *hat there

and is a distinction

and anH and Joseph ïnQPnfi F E. JSJ *f IH ♦ L T HLHh between and and or Kuczkowski and anH Joseph ïnQPnfi F E.

M JSJ *f IH ♦ L

F „ jtH

HLHh 1

situation-Bulletin of Kuczkowski M F 1 Pf 1 situation-Bulletin the Center for Children's

of Illustrated by ÎJËMÈÊÊÎL Books. Gr. 1-3. $6.89

Êb X^# ZERO IS NOT NOTHING *^&V " mM mß ' By Mindel and Harry Sitomer

.-.' nHf "

1 ' Ut - Illustrated by Richard Cuff ari &*^k * jPP ' E^ß ^7^

- A Intr°ducing the basic mathematics

^jHL 'fl ' ■'' , ¡ ' ^^^ijr pv%

A about zero, "the Sitomers explain why '^y^*^^ ^^%nt ̂ '*

' s ■'' , ¡

i^., ' '/**"• 1^!^P^' pv%

S v' a zero was neecled, and where the sym- ^^%nt ^ '* s

v^y# '

■vy' ^W ^ ** S v'

-* < bol and concept came from. Clear and ■vy' ^ ** - ■ -■ -* fundamental." - Kirkus Reviews.

Gr. 1-3. $6.89*

SOLOMON GRUNDX BORNONONEDAY Ä O

Out •* A '*U *• O^^l Ä O (WERE Out of n/um8ER5 | £% Finite •* Arithmetic A '*U *• Book O^^l _ WJ^. JmiT (WERE of n/um8ER5

'v-~z.^ | £%

Illustrated by Tomie de Paola ^HE^^^^H^K^ ^^^^ Based on the Solomon Grundy rhyme, ̂r^w^^^K^J^B^« /^^^R here is "a discussion of arithmetic in ÊËËW'^ I^^h^^^B^RC ^™h|'^ mod seven... which is actually intelligi- SBËL^ jÊK^^KÈÊF^' ú' " ble to the same kids the format appeals^H^B^T-- IëÊIE^^^ÊÊÈ? t"~]T~^' "

to, and is a pleasant puzzle as well." j|^^^, JJjJjBBBF^ m~-J I _~a - School Library Journal. ^^^L^J^j^^^^BÊÊt^tQ^^^JS^ Gr. 1-3. $6.89* •LIBRARY Edition. Publisher's price only and in no way reflects the price at which available from any other source.

For an annotated complete catalog of Crowell Young math books write: Dept. 363

Crowell . 10 E. 53rd St., New York 10022 )

'^ t School Library Journal /



Documents

LET'S METRICATE PARENTS, TOO!