INTRODUCING THE METRIC SYSTEM

Comparido por Marta Álvarez

I use this video to introduce the unit about the metric system:¡

Why the metric system matters - Matt Anticole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUVjJWA6Vw

To refresh their previous knowledge and make them talk, I start by asking them what units do they know, and when they answer I ask what magnitude are they measuring with them. Then I ask what length units they can remember. I write them on the blackboard and ask for an example of what would they measure with those. We get a wide vocabulary we are going to use later. I also ask if they have heard about other units, like miles, yards or foot. Some of them usualy do.

Then we watch the video. History, Geography and Maths, I think it is interesting.

When it ends I ask for things they haven't understood. They have to ask using complete sentences. I keep a dictionary (Wordreference) open on the whiteboard and we look for words, checking the pronunciation. After those questions, they work in small groups with a worksheet I give to them. I got the questions from:

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-the-metric-system-matters-matt-anticole#review

These are the questions:

Who was the earliest advocate for a uniform measuring system?

a. Marquis de Concordet

b. Napoleon Bonaparte

c. John Wilkins

d. Ernest Rutherford

What historical event was pivotal in the adoption of a unified measurement system?

a. The 1918 Flu Epidemic

b. The French Revolution

c. The 1846 Potato Famine

d. World War I

What defines our current ‘standard’ for one meter?

a. The length of a pendulum arm that takes 1 second to swing from left to right

b. The distance equal to 1/10,000,000 the distance between the Equator and North Pole

c. The distance light travels in a tiny fraction of a second

d. The distance a 1 kilogram object travels in one second when acted on by a force of 1 newton

The word meter derives from a Greek word that means:

a. Global

b. Stride

c. Hearth

d. Measure

What might common French citizens have liked about the metric system when it was adopted? What might they have disliked? Why?

What circumstances during the French Revolution permitted the metric system to gain a foothold?

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the metric system?

a. It helps to streamline trade between different countries

b. It has been officially adopted by every country around the globe

c. It provides a common language to discuss scientific data

d. It is based on measurements from the world itself and not arbitrary standards

Then we correct the activity in plenary making sure every member of the group speaks.