Lesson Plan
Converting Metric Measurements to Decimals & Fractions
Marry metric measurements to the everyday world around you! Use this lesson plan to teach your class the fun of converting metric measurements into fractions.
Grade:
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Learning Objectives
Students will be able to convert decimals to fractions in denominations of 10 or 100.
Introduction
(5 minutes)- Measure a pen to the nearest centimeter (a metric fractional unit of length = 100th of a meter) in front of your class. Highlight how to begin measuring with a ruler at zero, not one.
- Have a student write the measurement amount where the whole class can see it. (An average pen is about 30 to 40 cm.)
- Next to the answer, write the following conversion, from centimeters to meters (the standard unit for measuring length in the metric system):
- 10 centimeters = 0.10 meter
- 0.10 meter = 10/100 meter
- Referencing the conversion information, tell your students to think, pair, and share their thoughts on how long the pen would be in meters (expressing any patterns, clues, or observations).
- Have students share out their ideas. Encourage your class to use patterns, clues, or observations in their explanations.
Beginning
- Define the words "measurement," "nearest," "conversion," "centimeter," "meter," and "metric" in students' home languages (L1) and English (L2), and provide images and examples when possible.
- Pair beginning ELs with sympathetic partners or more advanced students for the think-pair-share.
Intermediate
- Have students rephrase the key points from the introduction first to a partner, then to the whole group.
- Provide sentence stems to help students do the think-pair-share, such as: "The length of the pen in meters is... A pattern I noticed is..."