Converting Measurements in 4th grade

In 4th grade, we have been learning about the size of measurement units and have been making conversions of metric and customary units of measure.

We have learned and practiced:

Length:  Meters to centimeters, centimeters to millimeters, kilometers to meters, feet to inches and yards to feet

Mass/Weight: kilograms to grams, pounds to ounces

Volume: liter to milliliters

Time: minute to seconds, hour to minutes

Converting measurements is a practical skill in our everyday lives. For example, a recipe might provide the measurements to make enough food for 4–6 people, but if you want to feed a larger or smaller group, you need to convert the measurements in the recipe. This might require changing pounds to ounces to prepare the recipe for a smaller group, or changing ounces to pounds for a larger group.

In order to learn to convert measurement, students first had to become comfortable with the size of measurements.  We looked at meter sticks to talk about the size of millimeters, centimeters, and meters.  We also looked at a variety of food containers to compare gallons to quarts, pints and cups.

In small groups students then made "Gallon People" to help them remember how many cups are in a pint, how many pints are in a quart and how many quarts are in a gallon.

How you can practice at home: 

Have your child list items in the pantry and record the measurement of each item found on the label. Then have your child to convert each measurement to the nearest unit of measurement, for example, kilogram to grams, pound to ounces and liter to milliliters.

Have your child measure items around the house and record the lengths in meters and centimeters. Then practice converting the length from meters to centimeters and centimeter to millimeters.