LESSON PLAN (Linda Bolin)

Lesson Title: Measurement Benchmarks and Conversions

Course: Pre-Algebra Date: December Lesson 4
Utah State Core Content and Process Standards:
2.2a Solve a wide variety of problems using ratios and proportional reasoning
a) 4.1a Convert units of measure within the same system

Lesson Objective(s): Select appropriate units of measure using benchmarks. Convert

measures within a system

Enduring Understanding Essential Questions:

(Big Ideas) • What common objects can be used to suggest units of
measurement?
Measurement is an essential • Why is it important to compare measures using the same
life skill type of unit? (Ex. Inches to inches rather than inches to
feet)
• How can I convert from one unit of measure to another?

Skill Focus: Vocabulary Focus:

Selecting units for
measurement
Converting measurements
measurement benchmark, convert measures
Metric units: gram, liter, meter, deka, kilo, deci, centi, milli,
Standard units: ounce, pound, Ton, cup, pint, quart, gallon,
inch, foot, yard, mile
convert measures

Materials:
• Soda can, and 3 or 4 other common objects. Objects for measurement benchmarks
• Smart Pal and capacity masters from the Smart Pal book, ruler, weights
• TI-73’s for each student.
• Converting Measures foldable pages for each student
• Worksheets: Metric and Customary Benchmarks worksheet.
• State Class Reference Sheet for Pre-Algebra

Assessment (Traditional/Authentic): performance, questioning

Ways to Gain/Maintain Attention (Primacy): coop activity, guessing and checking,

graphic organizers, writing, technology, music

Written Assignment:
Journal: Measurement graphic organizer from board, Foldable: Converting Measures
Worksheet: Metric and Customary Benchmarks
Truth or Dare Game
Appropriate text practice for using proportions for conversions.

Post measurement vocabulary in a graphic organizer on the board (see

attached).

Post these questions on the board: 1. What is its length? 2. How much
does it weigh? 3. What is its capacity? ( How much will it hold) 4. What is
its purpose?
 Content Chunks
Starter:

Start a journal page. Title it “Measurement”. Copy the vocabulary mind map
neatly on the journal page.

(see attached graphic organizer)

Lesson Segment 1: What common objects can be used to suggest units of

measurement?

Ask students to mix around the room until you say “freeze”. The person closest
to them becomes their partner. If no partner is immediately available they hold their
hand up high and look for another hand up to be their partner. Have them introduce
themselves to each other. Have them arrange themselves so that the partner with
the most pets is facing the teacher and the other partner is standing back to back with
their back facing the teacher. Tell them the facing-the-teacher partner will be
describing an object and the back-to-teacher partner will be guessing what it is. Tell
the facing-teacher partner to look at the questions you have posted on the board.
They must use these for their clues to get the partner to guess the object. Hold up a
soda can or other common object and have them give their clues. Then, have the
partners change position, so the guesser now becomes the clue-giver. Have them
look at the questions on the board to guide their clues. Hold up a second object.
After this activity, ask the students which of the clues were difficult for them to
give. Ask if any used metric measurements. Ask about how many cm the soda can
is? Ask about how many gm it weighs when full and how many ml it will hold. These
will be more difficult for the students to answer. Point out that this is because they do
not regularly use metric units to measure. Read the “Metric Versus Customary”
poem.

Teach students the following song. As you sing each verse, choose one or two
of the units for a stand and point activity. You will say a unit, for example
“centimeter”, and have the students stand and point to something in the room that
could be measured using a centimeter. Ask a couple of students to tell what they are
pointing at. Ask them why the centimeter would be better than trying to use a
millimeter or kilometer to measure the object they are pointing to. Repeat this Stand
And Point activity for each verse choosing one or two units for students to think
about.

Knowing which system of measurement and which unit of measurement would

be best to use is a vital skill. Selecting appropriate units can be more easily done if we
can think of a common object to compare the measurements to. We call this common
object a “measurement benchmark”.
Work with students to complete the “Measurement: Metric and Customary
Common Benchmarks” worksheet, showing some of the objects to the class to help
them a visual. You may want to use the capacity pages in the Smart Pal masters
book, a ruler, meter stick, some weights, etc for student reference.
Lesson Segment 2: Why is it important to compare measures using the same
type of unit? (Ex. Inches to inches rather than inches to feet)

Journal: Give each student a copy of the State Class Reference Sheet that can be
used on the CRT tests. Students should keep this reference sheet in their journal for
future use.

Hand a student a regular size Hershey candy bar and you hold up a 1lb.
Hershey bar. Tell the student can have it if theirs weighs more than yours. Have
them read the weight on their package to the class and you look at yours and say,
“Oh, no! Mine says it weighs only 1. Q. Why is this not an accurate comparison?
Have two students come to the front of the class. Choose one that is about 6 ft.
tall, and another much shorter. Use the ruler to measure the taller in feet and the
shorter in inches and declare, “_______ (the shorter person) is the taller of the two.”
When the class disagrees, defend by telling them how many inches. Q. Why is this
not an accurate comparison?
Obviously, when we are comparing, we need to use the same unit of measure.
So, in order to compare, we must often convert units. We could use a Foldable to
help us, a proportion, or we could use the graphing calculator. We will learn how to
use each of these tools.

Foldable: Fold the Converting Measures foldable so that the type of measure is a
pocket inside a folder. Staple or tape the edges of the pocket. Cut out each
measurement card. Help the students use the convert feature on the TI-73 and how
to use a proportion to fill in the information on the cards. (In a proportion, one ratio
is the number of smaller units in 1 of the larger units. The other is the information
given and a variable). Have them practice a few with you.

Staple or glue folded pocket to edge here.

TI-73: Use the - < to convert measures. From the home screen type the
number of units given. Push - < and select the type of measurement and the
unit of measure given. Then select the unit of measure to convert to and press b.
The home screen organizes the information so students can determine the scale factor
used to convert the units. For example asking what 3
was multiplied by to get 108 in this example, will
help students find the scale factor.
Lesson Segment 3: Practice

Game: Truth or Dare

In this game questions are posted for the class to see or students are given a
page of questions to answer. They may check with their team members for any they
are not sure of. Once they have had a few minutes to check with team members, the
teacher selects someone from the class to challenge another class member to, “Tell
the truth, or take the dare!” The challenger asks one of the questions from the list.
The student who was selected to tell the truth or take the dare must tell the truth
about the problem or do a dare. The challenger dares the person to do something
(that is not illegal, immoral, or extreme) such as sing Mary Had a Little Lamb, or do 5
jumping jacks. The teacher, of course, has the final say as to whether a dare is
appropriate or not. (Kids love this game). See the attached “Truth or Dare” page for
examples. Students should be able to use their foldables or calculators since they are
not required to memorize conversions.

Assign additional text practice where proportions can be used for converting units as
needed.

Measurement Units Song

(To Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater
Lyrics by Linda Bolin)

Inch and foot and yard and mile

Distance measured with a smile
Centimeter, meter too,
Kilometer. How long are you?

Ounce and pound and ton, Oh please

Weigh it all with one of these
Milligram and gram will do,
Kilogram. How heavy are you?

Ounce and cup, pint, quart and gallon

Fill you up ‘til you are howlin’
Millileter, liter too
Fill ‘er up! How full are you?
 Measurement

Customary Metric

Distance Weight Capacity Distance Weight Capacity

ounce ounce meter 1 gram 1 liter 1

inch

cup
foot pound
milli 0.001

pint
yard ton centi 0.01

mile quart deci 0.1

gallon Unit 1

deka 10

hecto 100

kilo 1000
Measurement: Metric and Customary Name ______________
Common Benchmarks Date__________

For each unit of measure in the table below, give another real world example.

METRIC
Type Unit
of and Relation to Common Another Real
measure symbol Objects or Events World examples:
Distance Centimeter 1. A paper clip is about 1
Length; cm centimeter wide and 3
(0.01 meters) centimeters long
Move
across it
2. An unsharpened pencil is about
20 centimeters long

Meter 1. A full-size automobile is about

m two meters wide.
100 centimeters 2. Most classroom doors are about
one meter wide.

kilometer 1. 100 telephone poles end to end

km would extend about a
kilometer.
(1,000 meters) 2. A kilometer is a little more than
half a mile.

Weight Gram 1. Two small paper clips weighs

gm about a gram
Pick it up 2. A nickel or a marble weighs
about 5 grams

Kilogram 1. The average weight of a

km newborn baby is 3 – 4
(1,000 grams) kilograms
2. A pair of men’s shoes weighs
about one kilogram.

Volume/ Liter 1. Four average glasses hold

Capacity L about 1 liter of liquid.
2. The gas tank of a full-size
Fill it up automobile holds about 90
liters.
Temp Degrees 1. Water freezes at 0 °
Celsius
Warm it up C 2. A comfortable room is about
21°
 Customary
Type of Unit and Relation to Common Objects Another Real
Measure symbol or Events World Examples
Distance Inch 1. A quarter is about an inch across
Length; in or “ the middle (diameter).
Move 2. A graphing calculator is about 7”.
across it
Foot 1. A ruler is one foot long
ft or ‘ 2. A Math book is about a foot from
(12 in) top to bottom.
Yard 1. From nose to tip of fingers on the
yd outstretched arm of an average
man is about a yd.
(3 ft) 2. The marked yard lines on a
football field are 10 yards apart

Mile 1. If walking briskly, an adult can

mi walk a mile in 20 minutes.
(5,280 ft.) 2. A mile is about a hundred football
fields from goal post to goal post.

Weight Ounce 1. An average sized Snicker candy

Pick it up oz bar weighs about 5 ounces.
2. A 50 cent piece weighs about half
an oz.
Pound 1. Two large apples weigh about a
lb pound.
2. An average newborn baby weighs
(16 oz) between 7 and 8 pounds.

Ton 1. 10 average men weigh about a

T Ton.
2. A small car weighs about a Ton.

Volume/ Ounce 1. A soda can holds 12 oz.

Capacity oz 2. Your mouth can hold about 2
Fill it up ounces.
Quart 1. A large drink at a convenience
qt. store holds about a quart.
(32 oz) 2. An average pitcher holds 2 quarts.

Gallon 1. A gallon of chocolate milk serves

gal about 12 people.
(4 quarts) 2. An average home fish tank holds
about 20 gallons of water.

Temp Degrees 1. Water freezes at 32°.

Fahrenheit 2. A comfortable room is about 72°.
Warm it up F
 Customary versus Metric
“A pint is a pound the world around,”
“It’s a cinch by the inch” don’t you know?
If it’s “hard by the yard” then should we not discard
An old system that’s awkward and slow?

“A meter is neater” the world will declare,

While the liter floods over the earth.
The kilogram surely is choice of the masses,
The decimal has infinite worth.

A system of order; a system of sense;

Who would want to use anything less?
But I’m used to ounces and gallons and cups,
So I guess I’ll put up with the mess.
By Nancy Oliver
Truth Or Dare Name ___________
Measurement Date ______

1. A unit of measure for finding the length of a pencil

could be a(n) ____.

2. _____ is a word for a unit of measure that is common

for both capacity and for weight.

3. A unit of measure for capacity in the metric system is

called a_________.

4. Two systems of measures are _________ and ______.

5. There are ________ milligrams in a gram.

6. The metric system for measures is based on multiples

of _____.

7. A ____ is the customary unit for measuring a great

distance, while a ___ is the metric unit.

8. To convert liters to kiloliters, multiply liters by ____.

9. To measure the weight of a marble, you should use

a(n) _____.

10. 3 yards is equivalent to _____ feet?

11. 500 cm is equivalent to _____ meters?

12. A gallon is equivalent to ____ quarts or ____ cups.

13. 4.5 liters is _____ milliliters.

14. 2 weeks is ____ hours.

 Metric Metric
DISTANCE WEIGHT (MASS)

Unit Equivalency Unit Equivalency

Example
1 milligram
1 millimeter
1 gram = _____ milligrams
1 centimeter = _____ millimeters
1 kilogram = _____ grams
1 meter = _____ centimeters
1 Metric ton = _____ kilograms
1 kilometer = ____ meters

Metric TIME
CAPACITY

___ seconds = 1 min ___ months = 1 yr

Unit Equivalency ___ minutes = 1 hr ___ weeks = 1 yr

1 milliliter ___ hours = 1 day _____ days = 1 yr

1 liter = ______ milliliters ___ days = 1 wk

1 kiloliter = ______ liters Metric

TEMPERATURE

0° = freezing
21 ° = a very pleasant day temperature
37 ° = normal body temperature
100 ° = boiling
 Customary Customary
DISTANCE WEIGHT

Unit Equivalency Unit Equivalency

1 ounce
1 inch
1 pound = ____ ounces
1 foot = ____ inches

1 yard = ____ feet 1 ton = ______ pounds

____ inches __________ ounces

1 mile = ______ yards

_______ feet
________ inches

Customary
CAPACITY TIME

___ seconds = 1 min ___ months = 1 yr

Unit Equivalency
___ minutes = 1 hr ___ weeks = 1 yr
1 ounce
___ hours = 1 day _____days = 1 yr
1 cup = ___ fluid ounces
___ days = 1 wk
1 pint = ___ fluid ounces
___ cups Customary
1 quart = ___ fluid ounces
TEMPERATURE
___ cups
___ pints
32 ° = freezing
1 gallon = _____ fluid ounces 72 ° = a very pleasant day temperature
____ cups 98.6 ° = normal body temperature
___ pints 212 ° = boiling
___quarts