Lesson 6

Rolling Along in Centimeters

Est. Class Sessions: 3–4

Developing the Lesson

Part 3: Collect the Data

If the investigation is taking place on the day following the discussion of the setup, it is a good idea to review the drawings students made. Display a student's drawing or make a drawing, with the help of the students, on the board or chart paper, labeling all the fixed variables. Briefly discuss the ground rules for the data collection of the investigation. Assign Questions 2–4.

Decide with the class what value to assign for the cars in each group. Assign values such as color (red car, blue car, etc.) or number (car #1, car #2, etc.). Using the same display of the data table shown previously, record the values in the column labeled Type of Car. Ask students to record these values on their data tables. Remind students to fill in the unit of measure (cm) for Distance Cars Roll.

Assign students to groups of four. Each will use a different car and conduct the investigation to determine which car rolls the farthest. Review techniques for measuring the length of each roll and for ensuring the accuracy of each measurement before groups begin. Students should record the distance for each trial in the data table (Question 5) from the Collect section of the Rolling Along in Centimeters pages in the Student Activity Book.

Assign the Rolling Cars Homework Master after data collection is complete.

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To facilitate effective group work you may wish to establish roles for each member of the group. Roles might include: car releaser, measurer, checker, and recorder. Some teachers prefer that students rotate roles for each car tested.

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Be sure students use the side of meterstick marked in centimeters. Point out the starting point on the metersticks available in your classroom. Some start with "zero" at the very edge while others move the "zero" point in a small distance from the edge. Demonstrate measuring from zero, measuring distances beyond 100 cm using two metersticks, and recording the distances on their data tables. Be sure students understand that when recording distances beyond 100 cm they need to add 100 to the measurement on the second meterstick to account for the entire distance.

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Observe students as they measure the length of their rolls in the Collect section (Question 5). Note whether students begin and end their measurements at the appropriate points using metersticks correctly. Assess students' abilities to use a meterstick to measure length in centimeters [E6, E7].

Adventure Book:
Student Activity Book:
Master: