Angelica Walker

Mr.Gaestel
Computer APPS 1
30 November 2016
A Need to Know Metrics
Todays students need to DS learn two systems of measurementthe metric system.
Which is used throughout the world, and the English or customary system, which is the mostused system in the United States (Dietz and Southern 446).
Rationale for the Instruction.
Metrics instruction must be included in the curriculum of our nations schools because all people
must understand the metric system to function in todays society. Metrics are everywhere!
Automobile engines; soft drink containers; nutrition information listed on food packages; jean
and film sizes; and most of the nuts, bolts, and screws used to assemble products important to the
United States are examples of common items measured in metric units.
Students must complete a series of learning activities to.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Read, write, and pronounce the basic metric measures for length, weight, and capacity.
Add subtract, multiply, and divide metric measurements.
Convert from one metric unit to another.
Solve problems that use metric measurements.
Convert commonly used metric measures to English measures and vice versa.

Instructional Strategies
To accomplish the learning goals, a variety of learning aids. Such as charts, oral and
writing exercises, and word problems, can and should be used extensively in the learning

process. A chart is an excellent learning resource that can be used to accomplish many of the
objectives.
Table 1 is an example of how basic metric units of length can be presented in visual form
(The World Almanac 1999). A similar chart for weight and capacity could be developed.
Table 1
Metric Units of Length
Common English
Unit

Abbreviation

Equivalent in Meters

Millimeter

mm

0.001 m

Equivalent
.03937 inch

Centimeter

cm

0.01 m

.3937 inch

Decimeter

dm

0.1 m

3.937 inch

Meter

1m

39.37 inch

Dekameter

dam

10 m

32.808 feet

Hectometer

hm

100 m

328.08 feet

Kilometer

km

1000m

.621 mile

The table can be used several ways to accomplish the instructional objectives.
1. The first column can be used for an oral exercise in which students pronounce each unit
of measure.
2. The second column can be used to show students the abbreviations for metric units,
which are always shown in lowercase letters with punctuation.
3. The third column can be used to explain that the meter is the basic unit used for
measuring length and the other units are parts or multiples of a meter. The table lists the
units of measurement from smallest to largest.

4. The third column can also be used to show students how to convert from one metric unit
to another. Moving the decimal point in the meter measurement to the left converts it to
smaller units: moving the decimal point to the right converts it to larger units.
5. The last column of the table can be used to establish the relationship between selected
metric and English measurement units.
Summery
The metric system of measuring must be taught along with the English system. Metrics
can be presented in an understandable manner if the teacher establishes goals and uses good
examples, illustrations, and applications. The table in this report can be used easily to enhance
learning.

Works Cited

Schultheis, Robert A. and Raymond M. Kaczmarski. Business Mathematics.

15th ed. Cincinnati: South-Western, 2003.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2004. Mahwak, NJ: World Almanac
Books, 2014