Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Metric vs. Imperial System

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The Objectives stage is crucial for establishing a clear foundation of what is expected to be achieved during the lesson. By defining specific and measurable objectives, the teacher guides students on the main learning focuses, ensuring everyone is aligned and prepared for subsequent activities. This section also serves to motivate students by demonstrating the practical applicability of knowledge about different measurement systems and the importance of such skills in everyday and academic contexts.

Main Objectives:

1. Empower students to solve problems involving units of the imperial system, identifying the appropriate units and performing specific mathematical operations.

2. Develop the ability to convert units from the imperial system to the international system using appropriate conversion formulas.

Side Objectives:

1. Encourage critical analysis of the differences between the metric and imperial systems, highlighting contexts in which each is more commonly used.

Introduction

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The Introduction serves to engage students and connect the content they studied at home with practical and real situations they might encounter. By presenting problem situations that require the use of the imperial system, students are encouraged to think critically and reevaluate their knowledge. The contextualization of the topic with everyday and historical examples helps to demonstrate the relevance of the imperial system and the importance of converting between different measurement systems.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine you are helping your grandparents prepare an old cake recipe, and they ask you to convert the measurements from cups and teaspoons to ounces and pounds. How would you solve this problem?

2. You are watching a dart throwing competition on television and notice that the scores are being displayed in feet and inches. If you wanted to compare these scores with metric system measurements, what would you need to do?

Contextualization

The imperial system, although less used in formal scientific and academic contexts today, maintains significant cultural and historical relevance, especially in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Interestingly, many roads in countries that adopt the metric system have distance markers in miles, and oven thermometers often use degrees Fahrenheit. These examples show how understanding the imperial system can facilitate interaction with different cultures and environments.

Development

Duration: (75 - 85 minutes)

The Development stage is designed to allow students to practically and interactively apply the knowledge acquired about the imperial system and its conversion to the metric system. Through playful and contextualized activities, students are challenged to solve real and fictional problems that require the manipulation of measurements, thereby reinforcing learning and understanding of the topic. This approach not only facilitates knowledge retention but also promotes teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - The Great Race of Systems

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Practice converting measurements quickly and accurately, applying the knowledge acquired about the imperial and metric systems.

- Description: In this activity, students will be divided into groups of up to 5 people to participate in a relay race that involves converting measurements between the imperial and metric systems. Each group will have to run to a station containing cards with measurements, which may include ounces, pounds, feet, inches, among others, and quickly convert to the metric system before passing to the next station. Each station will have a different challenge, such as converting a person's height from feet to centimeters or the weight of an object from pounds to kilograms.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of no more than 5 students.

• Explain the rules of the race and show the different types of measurements that will be at the stations.

• Each group starts at the same station and runs to the next after correctly converting the presented measure in 30 seconds.

• The teacher or a student monitors the time and accuracy of the conversions.

• The first group to complete all stations correctly wins.

Activity 2 - Masterchefs of Measurements

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Develop measurement conversion skills through practical and cultural application, as well as working as a team to achieve a common goal.

- Description: Students, organized in groups, take on the role of master chefs who need to adjust recipes from an old cookbook, which uses measurements from the imperial system, to the metric system. Each group receives a different recipe (cake, bread, etc.) and a list of ingredients with their measurements in ounces, cups, pounds, etc. They must convert these measurements and prepare a board to present the adjusted recipes.

- Instructions:

• Organize students into groups of up to 5 people.

• Distribute the recipes and ingredients to each group.

• Ask them to convert the measurements of the ingredients to the metric system.

• Each group prepares a board showing the original and converted measurements.

• At the end, each group presents their recipes and measurement boards to the class.

Activity 3 - Metric and Imperial Movie

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Enhance the ability to identify and convert imperial system measurements to the metric system using practical and fun examples.

- Description: In this activity, students, in groups, watch clips from movies of different eras and genres where measurements from the imperial system are used. After each clip, they must identify the measures used and convert them to the metric system. The measures can relate to distances (miles, feet) or sizes (inches, feet). Groups compete to see who can make the most correct conversions.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to 5 students.

• Present movie clips containing measurements from the imperial system.

• After each clip, groups have a few minutes to identify and convert the measures.

• Each correct conversion is worth points.

• The group with the most points at the end of all clips wins.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

This feedback stage is essential for consolidating students' learning, allowing them to reflect on the practical and theoretical activities carried out during the lesson. Through group discussion, students have the opportunity to verbalize and share the knowledge acquired, facilitating the identification of areas that may require further study. Additionally, by hearing their peers' experiences, students can gain new perspectives and problem-solving strategies, promoting a deeper and more collaborative understanding of the content.

Group Discussion

At the end of the activities, gather all students for a group discussion. Start the discussion with a brief introduction, emphasizing the importance of sharing what they learned and the strategies they used to solve the proposed problems. Encourage each group to discuss the difficulties they encountered and how they overcame them. This is a time for students to express their opinions and hear the experiences of their peers, thus enriching collective learning.

Key Questions

1. What were the biggest difficulties you encountered when converting measurements from the imperial system to the metric system, and how did you manage to overcome them?

2. How did the practical activities carried out today help to consolidate understanding of the application of measurement systems?

3. Was there any situation during the activities where you wondered why we still use the imperial system in some situations?

Conclusion

Duration: (10 - 15 minutes)

The Conclusion stage aims to consolidate students' learning, ensuring that they have a clear understanding of the concepts addressed and the practical applications discussed throughout the lesson. Summarizing key points helps reinforce memory and comprehension, while discussing the bridge between theory and practice and the importance of the topic emphasizes the relevance of what was learned to real and practical situations. This final reflection helps students better internalize knowledge and see its applicability beyond classroom activities.

Summary

In conclusion, a comprehensive review of the main concepts addressed regarding the Metric System vs. Imperial was conducted. Students were able to recap the units of measurement from the imperial system, such as feet, inches, ounces, and pounds, and the conversion formulas to the metric system, such as converting inches to centimeters and ounces to grams. They also discussed practical examples of applying these measures in everyday and cultural activities.

Theory Connection

Today's lesson was carefully structured to connect the theory studied at home with practice in the classroom, through playful and challenging activities. Activities like 'The Great Race of Systems' and 'Masterchefs of Measurements' provided students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations, reinforcing learning and understanding of the content.

Closing

The importance of understanding and being able to convert between the imperial and metric measurement systems is crucial, not only in academic contexts but also in everyday life. Activities like those carried out today help to realize the relevance of these measurement systems in various situations, from cooking to sports and history, highlighting the usefulness of mathematical learning in real-life situations.