Mathed Up!
Metric and Imperial Measures
After watching a brief video on making metric conversions to standard units, pupils complete tables to describe certain items with the appropriate unit of measurement. Then, they convert liters to millimeters, millimeters to...
EngageNY
Getting the Job Done—Speed, Work, and Measurement Units
How do you convert from one measurement to another? Pupils use unit rates to convert measurements from one unit to another in the 21st segment in a 29-part series. They convert within the same system to solve length, capacity,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Dana's House
Your class is to find the percent of the lot that is not covered by a house. Make sure your pupils understand the problems before they begin. The lot is the whole of the percent problem and the house is the part. The exercise is good...
EngageNY
Ratios of Fractions and Their Unit Rates 2
Remodeling projects require more than just a good design — they involve complex fractions, too. To determine whether a tiling project will fit within a given budget pupils calculate the square footage to determine the number of...
Illustrative Mathematics
Floor Plan
A multi-step problem has learners finding the actual area based on a scale drawing and then converting units at the end. Two different solution choices are listed depending on the preference on which step to start first. Both methods can...
Illustrative Mathematics
Converting Fractions of a Unit into a Smaller Unit
There is more than one way to answer a question; especially when you have fractions in measurement. Here are three questions with real-world situations in which 5th graders are asked to provide answers in three ways: a larger unit of...
Illustrative Mathematics
Converting Square Units
Jada has a rectangle board that is measured in inches. Young learners confirm their understanding of converting inches to feet. Then they find the area in square feet. Jada thinks she has a short-cut to convert inches square to square...
Illustrative Mathematics
Who is the Tallest?
A simple question, with a not-so-simple answer. Working with whole and mixed number measurements in inches, feet, and yards presents a problem with many possible solutions. A great activity that challenges the minds of young...
Mathed Up!
Compound Measures
Compounding is dividing units. Pupils practice using compound measures such as units for speed and density to solve problems that range from straightforward speed problems to those requiring conversions. The last few items challenge...
Balanced Assessment
Pen Pals
It's always nice to hear from friends. Your budding mathematicians read letters from pen pals and convert customary measurements into metric units and vice versa. They also write letters to an imaginary pen pal using metric units.
EngageNY
Comparison Shopping—Unit Price and Related Measurement Conversions II
Which rate is greater and by how much? Pupils continue to compare rates to solve problems in the 20th portion of a 29-part series. Rates are presented in a variety of representations either using the same representation or different...
Illustrative Mathematics
Computing Volume Progression 3
Learners are given a volume of a rectangular tank and are asked to find the water height. Because the total volume of the tank is given in liters, your geometers will need to use a unit ratio to convert to centimeters cubed. The exercise...
Achieve
Yogurt Packaging
Food companies understand how to use math to their advantage. Learners explore the math related to the packaging and serving size of yogurt. They then use unit analysis and percent values to make decisions on the product development.
EngageNY
Conversion Between Celsius and Fahrenheit
Develop a formula based upon numerical computations. The 31st part of a 33-part unit has the class determine the formula to convert a temperature in Celsius to a temperature in Fahrenheit. They do this by making comparisons between the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Data Transfer
A question to ask your class is, How fast is your Internet? That depends on the data transfer rate (DTR), which is the unit rate used in this activity. Math learners will calculate how long it takes to download a music file and a video...
Curated OER
Fuel Efficiency
Looking for a real-world situation to practice converting units? For this problem, learners must change miles per gallon to liters per km (or vice versa) to determine which car gets better gas miileage. It is a relatively short problem,...
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Assessment for the California Mathematics Standards Grade 5
Test young mathematicians' knowledge with an assessment aligned to California's fifth grade state standards. The exam covers a multitude of concepts including fractions and decimals, positive and negative numbers, measurement; and...
Achieve
Corn and Oats
How much land does a parcel hold? How much fertilizer does it take for a field of corn? Pupils answer these questions and more as they apply ratio reasoning and unit analysis.
Achieve
Greenhouse Management
Who knew running a greenhouse required so much math? Amaze future mathematicians and farmers with the amount of unit conversions, ratio and proportional reasoning, and geometric applications involved by having them complete the...
Achieve
Framing a House
If members of your class wonder where they can use the math they learn in middle school, let them discover the answer. Learners apply geometry concepts of scale and measure to calculate the costs of framing a house addition.
Achieve
Dairy Barn
Agriculture is truly a math-based profession! Help the dairy farmer determine the supplies needed to complete his barn. Using given dimensions, learners build equations and use units to determine the correct amount of materials.
Curated OER
Ant and Elephant
Have you ever wondered how many ants make up an elephant? Inquisitive minds will be amazed as they use scientific notation to compute and compare the mass of an elephant to an ant. Have participants make guesses and see how close they...
Illustrative Mathematics
Half of a Recipe
Kids love to cook! What is a better place to learn mixed numbers than with a recipe? It is up to learners to decide how they want to divide this recipe in half. They may choose to model the mixed number and then divide the model by two....
Illustrative Mathematics
Pennies to Heaven
Even though pennies seem to be relatively thin, stack enough of them into a single stack, and you could have quite a high stack. Enough so, that the final result can be a surprise to you as well as your class. This activity centers...