DIDACTIC MATERIALS TO LEARN THE CHANGE OF UNITS

The change of units of measure is one of most important learning that Primary students have to internalize when they treat the different magnitudes of measurement. From kilogrames to grames, from metres to centimetres… are several the kinds of changes that students must learn.

In the Andalusian Primary curriculum we can find that it requires this learning throughout the three cycles. For example, in the second cycle (although for the third cycle is valid too) there is a content which says the following: “3.7. Comparación y ordenación de unidades y cantidades de una misma magnitud”. For that reason teacher must get this aim. How to obtain this learning? The methods and techniques come into play in this point. Then I share with you two activities who can be very useful for children.

Firstly, the cube of units. Each face represents each unit of measure. A feasible activity would be giving a series of quantities and ask children to transform them throwing the cube. They should represent the numbers by means of the resultant units. For example, they have the quantity 1.500 litres and throw the dice. The new unit is the kilolitre, so they ought to to divide 1.500 between 1.000.

The second activity consists of pairing quantities which have the same value, represented in different units of measure. For that aim, it is neccesary to design pairs of cards. The cards are upside down and children have to turn two cards. If those two cards shape the relationship between the same quantitative value, they have to leave them face up; if it is the opposite situation, they must to come back to put them upside down. In this way, the teacher can verify if learners know to transform the units keeping the same value. Pupils group in four to carry out the activity, two of them play (they must talk together to guess the pairs) while the others are the ‘referees’ and ‘teachers’ (they have to control that those who are playing don’t cheat and guess the pairs), and viceversa.

I believe these games would be very positive for students to get these procedures in the matter of measurement. In addition, they would acquire other learning like the cooperative skills.