Break the classroom up into six groups. Give one yardstick and 12 pennies to each group. Distribute sheets of paper and pencils to each table.
Give the students several minutes to pass the stick among their group and inspect the markings. Discuss with the students what they have observed. Explain how inches, feet and yards fit together in a measuring scheme. Convert feet to inches and feet to yards for them, and then quiz the group with a few examples.
Ask the students to come up with several examples in which each measurement would be superior to the other two. For example, the unit of inches is a far better way for measuring the pencil but not for measuring the entire room.
Ask each group to place six of the coins aside and to put the other six in the middle of the table. Ask them to express this portion of the 12 as a fraction. Repeat the exercise with four coins and nine coins in the middle.
Apply the fraction concept to measurement by having the students find how many inches 1/4 of a foot, 2/3 of a foot and 5/6 of a foot would be. Ask the students to place in the middle of their tables the portion of coins that would correspond to 1/6 of a yard and 3/4 of a yard.
Instruct each student to draw a box on a piece of paper that will represent the sides around his house or apartment building. Ask each student to provide a length and width in feet.
Call on students around the room and ask them how many feet of length they provided for their drawing, and how many feet of width.
Have them multiply the length times the width to get the number of square feet in the area. Ask them how they would perform the same computation for yards. Have students check each other's results. Ask each student to estimate the size of her bedroom in feet, and then to multiply to get the area. Instruct the students to compare this to the sizes they estimated for their houses. Compare the two areas and challenge the pupils to draw conclusions about the size (in square feet) of various rooms within their homes.
Perform this hands-on exercise outside. Have each group assemble one balsa wood plane. Throw one with the wind at your back to demonstrate. Choose a thrower for each group and have him release it in flight. After the plane lands, ask for a student volunteer from the group. Measure her foot, and then have her walk to the plane heel to toe, counting steps as she goes. Allow each group one chance to modify its plane for a second flight. Make this more enjoyable by allowing the groups to compete and predict which modified plane will go farthest.
Return indoors and instruct the students to convert the results for each flight into feet and yards. Plot the distance each plane flew as a graph with the plane's number on the x (left to right) axis and the distance flown on the y (top to bottom) axis. Plot the modified plane flight lengths and determine which version flew farther.
Have each student measure one of his table-mate's shoes and write down the result in inches, rounded to the nearest whole number.
Instruct students to convert their answers to feet and yards.
Ask these questions: (tell them to furnish fractions for answers):
How many feet are in 18 inches ?
How many yards are in 9 feet ?
How many inches are in 3 feet ?
How many feet are in 3 inches ?
How many yards are in 6 inches ?
Discuss the answers with the group.