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SI Teacher Kits Available for Educators
Attention Teachers! Did you know that you can obtain a free set of metric education resources for use in your classroom? Contact the NIST Metric Program at TheSI [at] nist.gov (TheSI[at]nist[dot]gov) and include your name, school, subject, grade level, phone number, and U.S. mailing address. Publication requests may also be made using the OWM Contacts System. The NIST SI Teacher Kit contains a curated collection of instructional measurement resources. A metric ruler is a valuable tool for science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) classrooms. Metric ruler FAQs are available below.
Our website has numerous educational materials that can be downloaded and freely reproduced. These resources are helpful to students as they become familiar with the SI, develop reference points or that innate understanding of how much a quantity is, and learn more about SI basics. Your students may find Everyday Estimation and Becoming Familiar with the SI helpful. In addition, there are several Unit Conversion resources available.
NIST SP 1297 — SI Units Card Deck is an interactive educational activity that offers a fun way to enhance understanding of the International System of Units (SI). Games activities divide major elements into chunks and reinforce their relationships: 1) defining constants, 2) base units, #) derived units with special names, and 4) prefixes. With multiple game variations, gameplay may be differentiated for multiple instructional and skill levels. This resource includes 142 cards, blank replacement cards, game instructions, blank game templates, and supporting resources. This resource may be used by individual students or small teams in both formal and informal learning settings.
NIST SP 1247 — SI Base Units Relationship Poster is a colorful classroom resource, which illustrates the relationships between the SI base units and derived units with special names. This diagram is available in hardcopy in the SI Teacher Kit, but may also be printed.
This resource is designed to engage middle school (and higher) students in learning about the SI unit relationships and is aligned with the BIPM SI Brochure, 9th edition and NIST SP 330, The International System of Units (SI), 2019 edition.
NIST SP 365 — Metric Conversion Card is a laminated wallet-size card that includes an 8 cm and 80 mm ruler with approximate unit conversion factors between common SI and non-SI (U.S. customary) measurement units for length, area, mass, volume, and temperature (exact formula). This job aid is useful for making quick mathematical unit conversion calculations. Unit conversion is a multi-step process that involves multiplication or division by a numerical factor; selection of the correct number of significant digits; and rounding.
NIST SP 376 — Metric Ruler is an educational tool designed to teach the International System of Units (SI) length measurements. The design includes approximate scales of 300 mm and 30 cm. One edge is graduated in centimeters by alternating solid markings in the style of a forensic photo scale. One edge is divided into 1 dm, 10 cm, and 100 mm sections
NIST SI Measurement System Chart (2021) is a colorful chart explaining the 7 base units of the SI, prefix symbols, and features the Measurement League: Guardians of the SI. SI Prefix symbols are featured in the chart and used to represent smaller or larger units by factors that are powers of 10. Submit hard copy requests to TheSI [at] nist.gov (TheSI[at]nist[dot]gov). Chart dimensions: 216 mm by 279 mm (8.5 in by 11 in).
NIST LC 1140 - Metric Pyramid is a helpful study aid that can be easily constructed with yellow cardstock to keep common approximate unit conversion factors for mass, length, area, volume, temperature, and energy close at hand. It's a great homework helper!
Hardcopy resources are available while supplies last.
Popular Links
- Education Resources
- Becoming Familiar with the SI
- Everyday Estimation
- Prefixes
- Unit Conversion
- Writing with Metric Units
- Occupational Training
- National Metric Week
- NIST Metric Trivia Quiz
- NEST-R (STEM Registry)
- NIST Education Resources
Popular Publications
- Metric Conversion Card (SP 365)
- Metric Pyramid (LC 1140)
- Metric Ruler (SP 376)
- SI Base Units Relationships Poster (SP 1247)
- SI Units Card Deck (SP 1297)
- SI Measurement System Chart
- Metric Bookmark
- Metric Children's Activity Card
- NIST Museum Length Timeline
FAQ: My students are having difficulty using dual measurement unit tools, such as rulers that use both inches and centimeters. They keep mixing up the units! What can I do to improve their learning experience?
Use the Top 10 Tips for Teaching the Metric System. Students must build proficiency and confidence working with metric measurements before they can effectively make comparisons with other measurement systems. Use single measurement system tools whenever possible. Using dual unit measuring equipment can confuse learners because it is easy to select and use the wrong scale. When possible, acquire metric measuring devices (meter sticks, kilogram or gram scales, and Celsius thermometers). If dual unit measurement tools are used (e.g., those using U.S. customary units), block the non-metric units from view. For example, use opaque tape, an index card, or paint to cover up inches on a dual unit ruler.
FAQ: How do I get a metric ruler?
Metric rulers are available from many retail vendors, which can be identified by using search terms such as "metric rule," "meter stick," or "metric stick." Printable rulers such as the centimeter Color-square rules, can be color printed on to overhead transparency sheets to make inexpensive metric rulers. You may also be interested in similar printable teaching aids that create a liter cube or a cubic decimeter box, which are easily constructed using cardstock. The NIST Metric Ruler (SP 376) is included in the SI Teacher Kit.
Contacts
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Metric Program