Then students use the data in various ways determining the most appropriate statistical measures and methods for displaying the data. Some students represent increments on the number line and others, numbers to be rounded. To practice students' familiarity with the metric system, I have them work in groups and gather objects that they think will weigh a certain amount, such as 40 grams. You can do the same with length or units of capacity. The number of spaces moved left or right in the chart tells the students how many spaces to move the decimal point to the left or right.
Students make up factor trees to find the prime factorization of a number.
When they finish each tree, they circle each prime number with its appropriate color. This makes finding common denominators easier. Each group of students gets a circle, a piece of string, a ruler, and a calculator. They use the string to find a length representing the circumference. They measure the string and the diameter of the circle in both metric and customary units.