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Newton and Copernicus: Lesson #27
1c: Students know how to solve problems involving distance, time, and average speed.
1: What does Newton say the meter stick will be used for?
2: What is the cause of the confusion in panel number 2?
3: What is the thing with all the numbers that Newton is referring to called?
4: How many centimeters are there in one meter? Why is the meter stick divided into
smaller parts?
5: If you were going to measure how far a snail moved in one minute, which end of the
meter stick would you use for a reference point?
A Newton and Copernicus Companion: Copyright August 2007, J.C. Olson.
Newton and Copernicus: Lesson #27
LESSON GUIDE:
Vocabulary: confusion, computations
Academic Vocabulary: meter stick, meter, centimeter, reference point
Use a pre activity with a meter stick if students are unfamiliar with the meter.
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A: Have students read the text silently and carefully observe the background of
the drawing to look for supporting information. (V)
B: Have students read through the questions and circle the number of each question
they feel they would be able to respond to.
Pair/Share.
C: Give each student about half a minute to explain to their partner what they think
is happening based on what they see and read. (A)
D: The pair discusses questions 1-5, then each student draws a box around the
number (or circled number) of each question they would be able to respond to.
E: Select sets of volunteers to act out the strip in front of the class.
F: Students individually write out their responses to questions 1-5.
Answers for 1-5
1: To measure how far something travels.
2: Since “meter” sounds like “meet her”, Copernicus thinks he is going to meet
someone. Newton doesn’t understand the confusion, because he forgets that
Copernicus doesn’t know what a meter is.
3: a meter stick, a meter
4: There are 100 centimeters in a meter. It is divided into smaller parts in order to
more accurately measure smaller objects.
5: You would start at the “zero” end, where the first number is 1. If you measured
from the 100 end, you would get the wrong number for your distance, and would have
to do some further computations to find the correct answer.
A Newton and Copernicus Companion: Copyright August 2007, J.C. Olson.