Celebrate National Metric Week
October 6-10, 2008

Break out your rulers. It's time to celebrate National Metric Week. This fall the week of October 6–10 (the 10th month of the year and the week containing the 10th day) will be set aside to celebrate the metric system. Americans will have an opportunity to focus on the importance and convenience of the measurement system based on 10s.

Here are possible sources of information and ideas for lessons:

MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES

Elementary

• Do Your Students Measure up Metrically?
  Makes recommendations for refocusing instruction on the metric system to improve student performance in measurement.
• Celebrate Metric Day
  Features weekly activities involving measurement within the metric system.

Middle School

• Metric Madness
  Metric Madness is a board game for two to four players. Students review and practice metric vocabulary, measurement, and calculations by playing the game. Includes game board and cards.
• Math Roots: The Beginnings of the Metric System
  This article reviews the history of the metric system, from a proposal of a sixteenth-century mathematician to its implementation in Revolutionary France some 200 years later.
• Which One, America?
  Authors argue that now is the time to convert completely to metric measurement.

FREE RESOURCES 

NCTM Position Statement

• Teaching the Metric System for America’s Future
  NCTM’s position statement on teaching the Metric System in schools.

Other Resources

• U.S. Metric Association (USMA) can provide resources and ideas, including suggestions for celebrating National Metric Week.
• A Metric World is a lesson from DiscoverySchool.com that helps students in grades 6–8 become familiar with measuring with metric units.
• Metric Scavenger Hunt from Harcourt School Publishers is a game that requires students to practice estimating length by using metric measurements.
• AAA Math Web site has a Web page devoted to teaching measurement operations to students in grades K-8, featuring interactive practice and challenge games.
• Gordon Speer’s Web site offers information about the metric system and lists of metric units and prefixes, such as yotta- and yocto-
• Magical Metric Madness includes pretests and introductory lessons on metric.
• Metric postage stamps can be found on the USMA’s Web site.
• Metric Mania Lessons offers metric lessons and activities, many of which include student worksheets in PDF format.
• Mini Metric Olympics is a 13-page guide that includes plans for activities that can be used to host Metric Olympic events. (PDF)
• Taking America's Measure is a Web site for teachers and students sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
• The NIST Metric Program provides links to metric-related educational resources as well as information about the metric system.
• Centimeters, Millimeters, and Monsters uses a monster fashion show and humor to familiarize students with metric units. (PDF)
• Scavenger Hunt for Lengths makes it a pleasant challenge to measure and estimate length in metric units.
• Metric Madness includes a unit plan that requires students to create a brochure and slide show that highlight the importance of the metric system.

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