Monday, September 26, 2016

The Flexible Rule



Image result for images for the ruler

Somewhat like the number line
Is the rule or the measuring stick,
Once we used the Imperial rule
But these days it is mostly metric.

It is made of wood in some cases
But many are also made of plastic,
Not as popular is the metal rule
But any of them will do the trick.

Image result for images of percussion sticks

Do not use as percussion sticks
Or to make music on your desks,
A damaged rule that cannot measure
Is nothing more than useless.

The rule is an important member
It should be in the mathematics pack,
A schoolbag without the essential rule
Is travelling down the wrong track.

Do not use it to introduce measurement
Bring it further down the line,
For measuring without a true concept
Is most difficult to refine.

Image result for images for hand spans

Start with paces and hand spans
Measure the desks and the floor,
Then move outside to the corridor
And the playing field
If you need to measure more.

Image result for images for measuring walking paces

Then you will see the need for a rule
With the varying paces and hand spans,
For students come in different sizes
And also their paces and hands.

Use the rule to measure the paces
Use the rule to measure the spans,
Then create a problem in mathematics
And see if the pupils can make a plan.

It would be quite tedious
Measuring the corridor with a rule,
But to find the size of my pace
The rule would be an important tool.

For now knowing the size of my span
And knowing the measure of my pace
I can calculate using the rule
The measure of almost any place.

Image result for ball of string
I can obtain a ball of string
And then wrap it around a tree,
To learn the measure of its diameter
The rule would come in quite handy.

Image result for images of the tree trunk

Use the rule to measure the string
It is the same measure as the tree,
And knowing the measure of the string
Will be the diameter’s measure exactly.

Image result for images for the ruler

A procedure to bear in mind
The rule comes after the number line,
Both show the zero coming first
In measuring remember that every time.

Image result for counting numbers 1 to 10

It’s different from counting items
Where the first item is number one,
On the rule there are spaces
Like the paces used to measure the lawn.

I trust the foregoing fourteen verses
Have shown the importance of the rule,
Notwithstanding its shape and rigidity
It can be a flexible measuring tool.

Stewart Russell © 2016

No comments:

Post a Comment