Measuring Height with a Mirror

Just as my students are starting to get that "Spring Fever," I was feeling that way myself. So, I was extremely pleased to hear that we were going to spend some class time outdoors to work on an activity. As I'm always looking for ways to relate this course to my own classroom, I thought to myself, "I really need to get my own students outside to do something like this. They would love it!"

I learned that this activity was not as simple as it sounded when I first read through it. Of course any activity that involves measurement may be inaccurate if any small mistakes are made. There were many important factors that could throw off the results. My group's first answer for the height of the light pole was 11 feet. I thought of my own students and how they would accept this answer and say that they were finished. However, my group knew that the light pole looked taller than 11 feet - we must have made an error or two. We had to re-do the activity and check our measuring points. Then our answer was closer to 14 feet, and this answer was more accurate. I enjoyed this activity and found it to be a valuable lesson.