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Series
Learning Math: Measurement
Examine some of the major ideas in measurement and their practical applications in this video- and web-based course for K-8 teachers.
A video- and web-based course for K-8 teachers; 12 half-hour video programs (10 per grade band), course guide, and website.
Learning Math: Measurement explores procedures for measuring and learn about standard units in the metric and customary systems, the relationships among units, and the approximate nature of measurement. You will also examine how measurement can illuminate mathematical concepts such as irrational numbers, properties of circles, and area and volume formulas, and discover how other mathematical concepts can inform measurement tasks such as indirect measurement. The 10th session explores ways to apply the concepts of measurement you’ve learned in K-8 classrooms.
Overview
Learning Math: Measurement, a video- and web-based course for elementary and middle school teachers, examines some of the major ideas in measurement. You will explore procedures for measuring and learn about standard units in the metric and customary systems, the relationships among units, and the approximate nature of measurement. You will also examine how measurement can illuminate mathematical concepts such as irrational numbers, properties of circles, and area and volume formulas, and discover how other mathematical concepts can inform measurement tasks such as indirect measurement.
The course consists of 10 approximately two-and-a-half-hour sessions, each with a half hour of video programming, problem-solving activities provided online and in a print guide, and interactive activities and demonstrations on the web. The 10th session (choose video program 10, 11, or 12, depending on your grade level) explores ways to apply the concepts of measurement you’ve learned in your own classroom.
Who's Who
Content Developer/Facilitator
Suzanne Chapin, Ed.D.
Dr. Chapin is a professor of mathematics education at Boston University, where she teaches graduate- and undergraduate-level courses in mathematics curriculum, mathematics content and methodology, mathematics for special-needs students (gifted and learning disabled), and educational reform. Dr. Chapin has been the principal investigator on a number of projects, including Project Challenge (Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Program) and Partners in Change Project (U.S. DOE), and has worked with many colleagues as an investigator or consultant on grant-related research. Dr. Chapin is author or co-author of many mathematics textbooks and programs, including the Prentice Hall textbook series Middle Grade Mathematics: Tools for Success for students in grades 6-8; MEGA Projects: Math Explorations and Group Activities for students in grades 1-8; Algebra and Advanced Algebra for students in grades 8-12; and Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk To Help Students Learn. She is also the senior author on Math Matters: Understanding the Math You Teach, Grades K-6. Dr. Chapin is a frequent speaker at national meetings of mathematicians, mathematics educators, researchers, and policy makers.
Video Index
Session 1: What Does It Mean To Measure?
Surface Area of a Rock
Nonstandard Units and Area
Nonstandard Units and Perimeter
Session 2: Fundamentals of Measurement
Partitioning Task
Constant Ratios in Triangles
Measurement as Approximation
Session 3: The Metric System
Referents for Measuring
Measuring Mass of Water
Metric Mutts
Session 4: Angle Measurement
Measuring Angles in Polygons
Sums of Angles in Polygons
Polygons in Geo-Logo
Session 5: Indirect Measurement and Trigonometry
Measuring Distance of a Tree
Measuring Height of a Tree
Using Trigonometric Ratios
Session 6: Area
Using the Rectangle Method
Triangles With Constant Area
Scaling Polygons
Session 7: Circles and π
Measuring Circumference and Diameter
Making Sense of the Formula
The Circle in Islamic Design
Session 8: Volume
Packaging Candy
Volume in Engineering
Session 9: Measurement Relationships
Maximizing Area
Volume and Surface Area
Maximizing Volume
Session 10: Classroom Case Studies
Grades K-2: Mary Guerino: 2nd Grade, Mabelle Burrell School
Grades 3-5: Jonathan Belber: 4th Grade, Milton Academy
Grades 6-8: David Cellucci: 8th Grade, Beachmont Middle School
Reading List
Duke, C. (May, 1998). Tangrams. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School,485-487. (Session 1)
Download PDF File:
Tangrams
Taylor, P. Mark; Simms, Ken; Kim, Ok-Kyeong; and Reys, Robert E. (January, 2001). Do Your Students Measure Up Metrically? Teaching Children Mathematics, 282-287. (Session 3)
Reproduced with permission from Teaching Children Mathematics. © 2001 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved.
Download PDF File:
Do Your Students Measure Up Metrically?
Fan, C. Kenneth (January, 1997). Areas and Brownies. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 2 (3), 148-160. (Session 6)
Reproduced with permission from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School.© 1997 by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved.
Download PDF File:
Areas and Brownies
Read the next passage from A History of the Circle by Ernest Zebrowski to consider further uncertainty in measurement: (Session 7)
Download PDF File:
A History of the Circle
Zebrowski, Ernest (1999). A History of the Circle (pp. 77-81). Piscataway, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. (Session 8)
Download PDF File:
A History of the Circle
Battista, Michael T. (March-April 1998). How Many Blocks? Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 3 (6), 404-11.
Reproduced with permission from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. © 1998 by the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics. All rights reserved.
Download PDF File:
How Many Blocks
How Many Blocks continued
Support Materials
The complete guide to the course is available here for download in PDF. You will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to read these files. You can download it for free from Adobe.
Session 1: What Does It Mean to Measure
Session 2: Fundamentals of Measurement
Session 3: The Metric System
Session 4: Angle Measurement
Session 5: Indirect Measurement and Trigonometry
Session 6: Area
Session 7: Circles and 
Session 8: Volume
Session 9: Measurement Relationships
Session 10, Grades K-2: Classroom Case Studies
Session 10, Grades 3-5: Classroom Case Studies
Session 10, Grades 6-8: Classroom Case Studies
Appendix, including Glossary
Progress Chart
Print out the progress chart to keep track of your progress through the Measurement online course. It is available in PDF format: Learning Math: Measurement Progress Chart
Credits
Website Production Credits
Learning Math: Measurement is a production of WGBH Interactive and WGBH Educational Productions for Annenberg Media.
© 2003 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved.
Senior Producer
Ted Sicker
Curriculum Director
Denise Blumenthal
Content Developer
Suzanne H. Chapin, Ed.D., Boston University, Massachusetts
Coordinating Producer
Sanda Zdjelar
Curriculum Developer
Anna Brooks
Core Advisors
Carol R. Findell, Boston University, Massachusetts
Bowen Kerins, Mathematics Consultant
Michelle Manes, Mathematics Teacher and Education Consultant
Designers
Plum Crane
Lisa Rosenthal
Christian Wise
Web Developers
Joe Brandt
Kit Buckley
Rishi K. Connelly
Online Video Segment Coordinator
Mary Susan Blout
Business Managers
Maria Constantinides
Adriana Sacchi
Special Assistance
Jennifer Davis-Kay
Regina Sloutsky
Julie Wolf
Video Series Production Credits
Learning Math: Measurement is a production of WGBH Educational Foundation for Annenberg Media.
Executive Producer
Michele Korf
Senior Project Director
Amy Tonkonogy
Producer/Director
Bob Roche
Content Developer/Facilitator
Suzanne H. Chapin, Ed.D., Boston University, Massachusetts
Advisors
Mary Eich, Newton Public Schools, Massachusetts
Susan Friel, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Susan Lamon, Marquette University, Wisconsin
Miriam Leiva, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Joan Lukas, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Myriam Steinback, TERC, Massachusetts
Content Editor
Srdjan Divac, Harvard University, Massachusetts
On Location Consultants
Kenton G. Findell
Bowen Kerins
Editor
Richard Katz
Additional Editing
Dickran H. Manoogian
Associate Producers
Irena Fayngold
Pamela Lipton
Project Manager
Sanda Zdjelar
Production Manager
Mary Ellen Gardiner
Post Production Associate Producer
Peter Villa
Location Coordinator
Mary Susan Blout
Teacher Liaison
Lisa Eure
Set Design
Irena Fayngold
Set Assistant
Elena Graceffa
Camera
Kevin Burke
Bill Charette
Lance Douglas
Larry LeCain
Steve McCarthy
Dillard Morrison
David Rabinovitz
Audio
Steve Bores
Chris Bresnahan
Charlie Collias
Jose Leon
Dennis McCarthy
Gilles Morin
Gaffers
Robert Cuddy
Interns
Timothy Barney
Ravi Blatt
Joe Gudema
Justin Hartery
Aimee Jones
Design
Gaye Korbet
Daryl Myers
Alisa Placas
Content Graphics
Richard Katz
On-line Editors
Mark Geffen
Richard Katz
John O’Brien
Sound Mix
John Jenkins
Dan Lesiw
Original Music
Tom Martin
Narrator
Jeff Loeb
Business Manager
Joe Karaman
Unit Manager
Maria Constantinides
Office Coordinators
Justin Brown
Laurie Wolf
Special Thanks
Session 2
Measure by Measure
Owen Young
Session 4
The Angle on Pool
Jillian’s — Boston, MA
Archival footage courtesy of Analog Devices Inc., High Speed Converter Lab and Wafer Fabrication Facilities
Session 5
GPS to the Rescue
Archival footage courtesy of NASA/JPL/Caltech
Session 9
The Giant Ocean Tank
The Staff at The New England Aquarium
Session 10
Classroom Case Studies
Mary Guerino, Mabelle Burrell School, Foxborough, MA
Jonathan Belber, Milton Academy, Milton, MA
David Cellucci, Beachmont Middle School, Revere, MA
Site Location
Ferryway School, Malden, MA
