A Century of Measuring Growth: teacher key

How You Grow, grade 11 edition, written for 11th grade. Growth charts came from several studies over time, from a 1892 idea about following children to the Fels study and the 2006 WHO charts.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What did Franz Boas see in 1892 would teach more about growth?
   • Following the same children over time (answer)
   • Measuring only babies
   • Counting every bone in the body
2. Which study is the only one of the early long studies that has run continuously up to the present?
   • The 1950 Harvard standards
   • The Fels Longitudinal Study (answer)
   • The 1977 charts
3. What is the difference between a growth standard and a growth reference?
   • A standard is older than a reference
   • A standard counts weight and a reference counts height
   • A standard shows how children should grow in good conditions; a reference shows how certain children did grow (answer)
4. What does longitudinal mean in a longitudinal study?
   • Over time, following the same children (answer)
   • Measured one time
   • Done in many countries
5. What did the WHO study find about children around the world?
   • They grow very differently in every country
   • They grow similarly when their needs for health and care are met (answer)
   • They grow fastest in Norway

Words

• anthropologist: human scientist
• longitudinal: over time
• standard: ideal growth
• reference: past growth