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Measure Up! Conversions

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Lesson Plan

Measure Up! Conversions

Students will be able to convert among different-sized standard measurement units (e.g., km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz; l, ml; hr, min, sec) within a given measurement system. Students will apply these conversions to solve multi-step real-world problems.

Understanding how to convert measurements is a vital life skill! From following recipes to building projects, knowing how to switch between units like inches and feet or grams and kilograms helps us solve everyday problems accurately and efficiently. It's like having a secret code for numbers!

Audience

5th Grade Students

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Through direct instruction, interactive slides, and guided practice, students will learn and apply conversion strategies.

Materials

Whiteboard or Projector, Measure Up! Conversions Slide Deck, Conversion Practice Worksheet, Pencils, and Optional: Rulers, Measuring Tapes, or other physical measurement tools for demonstration

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Think About It! (5 minutes)

5 minutes

  • Display the first slide of the Measure Up! Conversions Slide Deck.
    - Ask students: 'When might you need to change units of measurement in real life? (e.g., feet to inches, liters to milliliters)?' Allow for a quick pair-share or whole-class discussion.
    - Transition by explaining that today's lesson will help them become conversion champions!

Step 2

Direct Instruction: Conversion Basics (10 minutes)

10 minutes

  • Use slides 2-5 of the Measure Up! Conversions Slide Deck to introduce and explain the concept of converting units within the standard system (length, weight, volume, time).
    - Emphasize the 'King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk' mnemonic or a similar strategy for metric conversions, and discuss common customary conversions.
    - Work through examples on the slides, encouraging student participation.
    - Highlight the importance of knowing whether to multiply or divide when converting between larger and smaller units.

Step 3

Guided Practice: Let's Convert! (10 minutes)

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Conversion Practice Worksheet.
    - Work through the first few problems on the worksheet together as a class, using the Measure Up! Conversions Slide Deck to guide the process.
    - Circulate around the room, offering support and checking for understanding as students begin to work independently or in small groups on the remaining problems.

Step 4

Wrap-Up & Quick Check (5 minutes)

5 minutes

  • Bring the class back together.
    - Review a few more answers from the Conversion Practice Worksheet or ask students to share their strategies.
    - Ask a quick exit ticket question: 'Give one example of a real-life situation where converting measurements is important.'
    - Collect the worksheets for informal assessment.
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Slide Deck

Measure Up! Unit Conversions

How do we convert units of measurement, and why is it useful in real life?

Welcome students and introduce the lesson. Pose the warm-up question to activate prior knowledge and connect to real-life situations. Encourage a quick discussion.

What is a Unit Conversion?

• Changing from one unit of measurement to another.
• Example: Feet to inches, liters to milliliters, hours to minutes.
• Why do we do it? To make measurements easier to understand, compare, or use!

Explain the concept of converting units: changing from one unit to another within the same system. Give examples of when this might be necessary (e.g., measuring ingredients, building a fence).

Customary Units: Length, Weight, Volume

Length
• 1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in)
• 1 yard (yd) = 3 feet (ft)
• 1 mile (mi) = 5,280 feet (ft)

#### Weight
• 1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces (oz)
• 1 ton (T) = 2,000 pounds (lb)

#### Volume
• 1 cup (c) = 8 fluid ounces (fl oz)
• 1 pint (pt) = 2 cups (c)
• 1 quart (qt) = 2 pints (pt)
• 1 gallon (gal) = 4 quarts (qt)

Introduce customary units (length, weight, volume) and some common conversions. Emphasize that students might already know some of these from daily life.

Metric Units: Length, Mass, Volume

The Metric System is based on powers of 10!
King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk

• Kilo (km, kg, kL) - 1,000 base units
• Hecto (hm, hg, hL) - 100 base units
• Deka (dam, dag, daL) - 10 base units
• Base Unit (m, g, L) - 1 base unit
• Deci (dm, dg, dL) - 0.1 base units
• Centi (cm, cg, cL) - 0.01 base units
• Milli (mm, mg, mL) - 0.001 base units

Introduce metric units and the common prefixes. Explain the 'King Henry' mnemonic as a helpful tool for remembering the order and direction of conversion for metric units. Work through a simple example.

When to Multiply, When to Divide?

Think about the size of the units!

• Larger Unit → Smaller Unit = MULTIPLY!
• Example: Converting feet to inches (feet are larger, inches are smaller, so you multiply by 12).

• Smaller Unit → Larger Unit = DIVIDE!
• Example: Converting inches to feet (inches are smaller, feet are larger, so you divide by 12).

Explain how to decide whether to multiply or divide. Use the rule: 'When converting from a larger unit to a smaller unit, multiply. When converting from a smaller unit to a larger unit, divide.' Provide examples for both scenarios.

Time to Practice!

• You will receive a Conversion Practice Worksheet.
• Work through the problems, using the conversion charts on the previous slides as a reference.
• Remember to think: Are you going from a larger unit to a smaller unit (multiply), or a smaller unit to a larger unit (divide)?

Introduce the Conversion Practice Worksheet. Work through one or two problems as a class to model the process and clarify expectations. Encourage students to ask questions.

Review and Reflect

• What did we learn today about converting units?
• Can you give one real-life example where knowing how to convert measurements is important?

Conclude the lesson by reviewing key takeaways and asking the exit ticket question. This helps reinforce the learning and provides a quick check for understanding.

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Worksheet

Conversion Practice Worksheet

Name: ____________________________

Date: ____________________________

Directions: Convert the following measurements. Show your work!

Customary Unit Conversions

  1. 4 feet = ______ inches



  2. 3 pounds = ______ ounces



  3. 8 quarts = ______ gallons



  4. 2 miles = ______ feet



  5. 64 ounces = ______ pounds



  6. 10 yards = ______ feet



Metric Unit Conversions

Remember: King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk (Kilo, Hecto, Deka, Base, Deci, Centi, Milli)

  1. 5 meters = ______ centimeters



  2. 2.5 kilograms = ______ grams



  3. 1,500 milliliters = ______ liters



  4. 3.2 kilometers = ______ meters



  5. 400 centimeters = ______ meters



  6. 750 grams = ______ kilograms



Challenge Problems

  1. Sarah has a ribbon that is 2 yards long. She needs to cut it into pieces that are 6 inches long. How many pieces can she cut?






  2. A recipe calls for 0.5 liters of milk. If you only have a measuring cup that measures in milliliters, how many milliliters of milk do you need?






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Answer Key

Conversion Practice Worksheet Answer Key

Customary Unit Conversions

  1. 4 feet = 48 inches

    • Thought Process: We are converting from a larger unit (feet) to a smaller unit (inches), so we multiply. There are 12 inches in 1 foot. So, 4 feet * 12 inches/foot = 48 inches.



  2. 3 pounds = 48 ounces

    • Thought Process: We are converting from a larger unit (pounds) to a smaller unit (ounces), so we multiply. There are 16 ounces in 1 pound. So, 3 pounds * 16 ounces/pound = 48 ounces.



  3. 8 quarts = 2 gallons

    • Thought Process: We are converting from a smaller unit (quarts) to a larger unit (gallons), so we divide. There are 4 quarts in 1 gallon. So, 8 quarts / 4 quarts/gallon = 2 gallons.



  4. 2 miles = 10,560 feet

    • Thought Process: We are converting from a larger unit (miles) to a smaller unit (feet), so we multiply. There are 5,280 feet in 1 mile. So, 2 miles * 5,280 feet/mile = 10,560 feet.



  5. 64 ounces = 4 pounds

    • Thought Process: We are converting from a smaller unit (ounces) to a larger unit (pounds), so we divide. There are 16 ounces in 1 pound. So, 64 ounces / 16 ounces/pound = 4 pounds.



  6. 10 yards = 30 feet

    • Thought Process: We are converting from a larger unit (yards) to a smaller unit (feet), so we multiply. There are 3 feet in 1 yard. So, 10 yards * 3 feet/yard = 30 feet.



Metric Unit Conversions

  1. 5 meters = 500 centimeters

    • Thought Process: Moving from meters (base unit) to centimeters (centi), we move two places to the right on the King Henry scale, which means multiplying by 100. So, 5 * 100 = 500 cm.



  2. 2.5 kilograms = 2,500 grams

    • Thought Process: Moving from kilograms (kilo) to grams (base unit), we move three places to the right, which means multiplying by 1,000. So, 2.5 * 1,000 = 2,500 g.



  3. 1,500 milliliters = 1.5 liters

    • Thought Process: Moving from milliliters (milli) to liters (base unit), we move three places to the left, which means dividing by 1,000. So, 1,500 / 1,000 = 1.5 L.



  4. 3.2 kilometers = 3,200 meters

    • Thought Process: Moving from kilometers (kilo) to meters (base unit), we move three places to the right, which means multiplying by 1,000. So, 3.2 * 1,000 = 3,200 m.



  5. 400 centimeters = 4 meters

    • Thought Process: Moving from centimeters (centi) to meters (base unit), we move two places to the left, which means dividing by 100. So, 400 / 100 = 4 m.



  6. 750 grams = 0.75 kilograms

    • Thought Process: Moving from grams (base unit) to kilograms (kilo), we move three places to the left, which means dividing by 1,000. So, 750 / 1,000 = 0.75 kg.



Challenge Problems

  1. Sarah has a ribbon that is 2 yards long. She needs to cut it into pieces that are 6 inches long. How many pieces can she cut?

    • Thought Process: First, convert yards to feet: 2 yards * 3 feet/yard = 6 feet. Then, convert feet to inches: 6 feet * 12 inches/foot = 72 inches. Finally, divide the total inches by the length of each piece: 72 inches / 6 inches/piece = 12 pieces.
    • Answer: 12 pieces






  2. A recipe calls for 0.5 liters of milk. If you only have a measuring cup that measures in milliliters, how many milliliters of milk do you need?

    • Thought Process: We are converting from liters (base unit) to milliliters (milli), which means moving three places to the right on the King Henry scale, or multiplying by 1,000. So, 0.5 liters * 1,000 milliliters/liter = 500 milliliters.
    • Answer: 500 milliliters






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