Image of the Week: Feeling Weight

Feeling Weight

One of our most popular Off You Go activities invites student to hunt for objects that are about 10 cm long to build an understanding of this linear measurement. These kinds of activities build deep embodied understandings of units of measure that students can then use to estimate lengths in the future. The same can be done with familiarizing students with the units we use to measure weight. This is particularly important because our understanding of weight is not something we can keep in our visual memory, like we can with length. It must be held in our bodies, from picking up, holding, and measuring weight. Many students will know in their bodies what a full loaf of bread, like the one shown in the image of the week, feels like to pick up and heft. Students would also benefit from feeling a one-pound weight, if you have one available. The central question is, What does one pound feel like?

Some students might resist the idea that we can hold mathematical ideas in our bodies, but this is at the heart of learning and doing mathematics. From an early age, we count on fingers, we manipulate figures and puzzle pieces, we navigate three-dimensional space physically, and we embody concepts like symmetry. When looking for objects that weigh about one pound, encourage students to only start with their eyes and then quickly move to their hands as the best tool for learning about and estimating with weight.

And if you use or want to explore the metric system, don’t fret! We have Off You Go activities to look for objects that weight about one kilogram and 100 grams.

And we invite you to follow us on Twitter! Tweet us the fascinating ideas you students have about our activities or how you’re trying these activities in your space. We can’t wait to hear from you!

To multiplicity, cheers!

Jen Munson and the multiplicity lab group