Math-in-CTE Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: Reading a Tape Measure
Author(s):
Sam Herringshaw
Lesson # 7
Phone Number(s):
541-667-6164
Rob Berger
541-667-6190
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]
[email protected]
Occupational Area: Agriculture
CTE Concept(s): Measurement – Reading a tape measure
Math Concepts: fractions – adding and subtracting
Lesson Objective: Students will be able to analyze the need for precise and accurate measurement, measure to 1/16” using a standard
tape measure
Supplies Needed: Rulers (class set), 4 boards marked “1,2,3,4”, set of 26 boards cut to various lengths to correspond with worksheet 7.1,
THE "7 ELEMENTS"
TEACHER NOTES
(and answer key)
1. Introduce the CTE lesson.
(Hold up a $1 bill.) The first four people to raise their hands are going
to get this dollar bill. Tear dollar bill into 4 equal pieces. Was there an
easier way to distribute this dollar bill to the four of you who raised
your hands first?
Common answer may be to give each student a quarter.
Is there a way we could give each person in this class an equal share We could divide one dollar by the number of people in the
class and use change.
of this dollar?
What have we just done?
We have divided this dollar up into fractions in a way that
doesn’t destroy the dollar bill.
Today we are going to dive into the world of fractions and how they
apply to measurement and the projects you are doing in the shop.
2. Assess students’ math awareness as it relates to the CTE
lesson.
Where do people use fractions in real life?
Get the students started with examples of pizza, pie, fuel
tanks, construction, farming, etc.
Your task is to divide this piece of paper into 16 equal parts,
but first, you must tell me how to do this. How many folds will
Give each student a piece of paper.
be required? To better understand the fractions involved with
your task, let’s go step by step:
If I asked you to make 2 equal parts out of your piece of
paper, how would you do that? Correct. Go ahead and do
that. Do you still have the same piece of paper in front of
you?
One represents the number of pieces and we put it on the top.
Who knows what the name of the top number is?
Put a 1 on the white board. Put a 2 on the board under
the one to make the ½ fraction.
Numerator.
Who knows what the name of the bottom number is?
The denominator tells us how many equal parts make up the
whole, in this case, 2 parts make up the whole sheet of paper.
Denominator.
Another way to look at numerators and denominators is Continue in the same way for 4, 8, and 16.
part/whole
Do all of you have 16 equally sized parts on your piece of
paper? Each of those squares represents a ____________ of
the whole paper (fraction).
3. Work through the math example embedded in the CTE lesson.
Hand out pre-made rulers that are only marked off in
inches. Lay out 4 boards around the room for students to
measure and record their measurements.
Locate a ruler on your table and hold it above your head when you
are ready to move to the next step. Each of you have been given a
number 1-4. Your task is to locate the board that has your number on Give students about 5 minutes to complete the activity.
it, measure the board, and record your answer on the whiteboard.
You may have noticed that your ruler is only marked off in inches.
When recording your measurements, approximate and describe the
measurement as close as you can.
What measurement did you come up with for board #1?
What measurement did you come up with for board #2?
What measurement did you come up with for board #3?
What measurement did you come up with for board #4?
What do you notice about the measurements that you came up with Lead students to a discussion that there are many
on these boards?
variations in their answers.
Did the length of the board change before you got a chance to Lead discussion towards needing to break the inch down
measure it? Why is there a difference in these measurements?
into smaller increments.
Hand out regular rulers.
Now you will be given a regular ruler. Your task is to go back and
measure these boards again. If you don’t know how to read a ruler,
The regular rulers gave the more accurate answer
describe the measurement in the best way you can.
because it is marked off into smaller increments.
Which rulers gave you a more accurate measurement? Why?
LK Precept
What are some other areas where we use measurement?
How do we measure success in our lives?
Student answers will vary, try to lead discussion to the ide
range of applications of measurement.
Write “High School” at the bottom of the board, and a
career at the top of the board, with a vertical line between.
So if we are starting here in high school, and we want to end up in
Write in success benchmarks of success along the line as
this career, what are some benchmarks, or measurements of our
students talk about them.
success that we find along the way?
Will one of you tell me about a career you are interested in?
How do the measurements of our lives relate to the goals that we
set?
4. Work through related, contextual math-in-CTE examples.
Let’s find out together what all those marks on the rulers you just Hand out the inch worksheet. Draw a straight line on the
used mean. You have been given a worksheet with a diagram on it board. As each increment is talked about, draw in the
that represent an inch.
corresponding line on the board.
The horizontal line on the worksheet in front of you represents one
inch. Locate the vertical line that divides the “inch” into two equal
Walk around the room to check for student understanding.
parts. Put your finger on this line. It looks like all of you found the
correct line, now we are going to name it. How many sections do you
have on each side of this mark? One, that is correct. Place a 1 with
a line underneath it beneath the line you just had your finger on. How
many parts did we divide the inch into? Two, correct. Write a two
underneath the one. You have just written a fraction. The numerator
is the ____(one). The 2 is the __________(denominator) and tells us
how many parts we divided the inch into.
Now locate the lines that divided the inch into four equal sections. Walk around the room to check for understanding.
Put your finger on the first one. We are still dividing the same inch,
so put a one underneath the line you had your finger on. Since we
are dividing the inch into 4 parts, put a four in the denominator spot.
Now as we try to locate the next fourth, you should find that it is
already labeled as ½. If we relate this to money, half of a dollar is
how much? How many quarters does it take to make half of a dollar? Make sure to put in all the equivalent fractions underneath
So 2/4 is the same as _______(1/2). The ratio or fraction 2/4 can be the reduced fractions. i.e. ½.2/4,4/8,8/16
reduced to ½. Find the next fourth line and put your finger on it. The
line will be the same length as the ¼ line you just labeled. How many
fourths have you traveled from the left hand side of your ruler? Place Repeat this discussion for 8ths, and 16ths.
a 3 in the as the numerator, and a 4 as the denominator.
5. Work through traditional math examples.
Hand out ruler worksheet. The worksheet has 4 different
rulers marked off in different increments (1/4, 1/8, 1/16).
You will find a worksheet in front of you that has 4 different rulers on
The students must correctly name the measurements on
it. Your task is to name the measurements that the arrows indicate
the sheet.
on each of the rulers.
The rulers are marked off in different ways.
What difference do you notice in these rulers?
As you work through these questions, remember to count to find the
numerator and the number of parts is the denominator.
6. Students demonstrate their understanding.
Everything you have learned today about fractions and measurement
are about to be put to use. Your first shop project calls for a piece of
20 ga. Steel to be cut to 5 ½ X 6 inches. Before you are allowed to
cut any steel, you must first make a pattern out of paper. On your
table you will find paper, scissors, and rulers. Cut out a piece of
paper that is exactly 5 ½ X 6 inches.
7. Formal assessment.
26 boards are pre-cut to various lengths and labeled A-Z
It is now time to find out how much you know about length and Students will find the combinations of lengths with 2 or 3
measurement. In the shop you will find 26 boards labeled A-Z cut to boards to come up with the total length needed as
various lengths. Your task is to find the combinations of boards to indicated on the worksheet.
solve the problems on your worksheet.
Hand out worksheet.
You may not know yet how to add fractions. What are some possible
Students can measure one board, approximate the length
strategies for accomplishing this task?
of the second board needed, hold the two boards together,
and then measure.
For each problem on your worksheet, there is only one combination
of boards that will give the desired length. Don’t get frustrated. Think
Because there will be many students trying to measure a
about what you have learned and think of this as a large puzzle.
few boards, students may get frustrated. The idea is for
Write the letters of the boards that you used for each problem in the
them to be forced into trying to add fractions instead of
space provided on your worksheet.
holding the boards together and measuring.
During our next class you will learn how to add fractions and lengths
together. What are some applications where it would not be practical
to figure out the total length by holding two parts together and
measuring?
It would not be practical when working with long or heavy
materials.
NOTES: This lesson is for a 90 minute class. The project at the end of the lesson may take a couple of days for students to complete. The activity
of measuring the boards and finding the total length should be done in the shop, and students should use tape measures if available.
*More precise lengths can be obtained for the activity by cutting lengths of 1” square tubing.