A student last week asked me what the difference was between mean, median and mode. They had listened carefully in school but were still confused, and I was pleased they felt confident enough to ask me in our class after school.
Knowing we had also been working on our comfort level using decimals, I combined skills and we all had a few laughs while everyone carefully measured each other's feet in centimetres and then worked out who was closest to 'average', using the three mathematical definitions of average.
I'll explain those differences another time, but in the second activity I wanted them to take control of their own measurement, and so I had them measure their index finger from the crease next to their palm to the tip of their finger. Again they worked out who was closest to average.
It was so nice to have a reason to use decimals and to help them measure accurately, because I'm sure in life I use measurement more than any other mathematical skill.
