Activities to Teach Students to Convert Rates and Measurements: Customary Units
As a teacher, one of your responsibilities is to help your students learn how to convert rates and measurements. In the United States, we use customary units to measure length, weight, volume, and temperature. These units can often be confusing for students, especially when they have to convert between them. Here are some activities that you can use to help your students learn how to convert customary units.
1. Create a Conversion Chart
One of the easiest ways to help your students learn how to convert customary units is to create a conversion chart that they can use as a reference. This chart should include the most common units of measurement, such as inches, feet, yards, miles, ounces, pounds, cups, pints, quarts, gallons, and Fahrenheit. You can also include some conversion formulas that your students can use to convert between units.
2. Play Measurement Bingo
To play this game, you will need a set of bingo cards that you can create yourself or download from the internet. Each square on the bingo card should have a different measurement, such as 12 inches, 3 feet, 1 yard, and so on. You will also need a set of cards with the measurements that you will call out. To win, the students must fill out a whole row, column, or diagonal by converting the measurement on their card to the measurement that you call out.
3. Measure Ingredients for Cooking
Cooking is a great way to teach your students about measurement because it’s a practical application of these skills. You can assign your students a recipe that they will have to make at home. They will have to convert the measurements in the recipe to the units that they are familiar with. This activity will help them learn how to measure and convert units while also having fun and making something delicious.
4. Estimation Jar
Another activity that you can use to help your students learn how to convert customary units is to create an estimation jar. Fill a jar with different objects of various sizes, such as marbles, pencils, paperclips, and so on. Ask your students to estimate how many objects are in the jar and record their estimates. Then, have them convert these estimates into different units of measurement, such as inches, feet, or yards. Finally, reveal the actual number of objects in the jar and see who was the closest.
5. Scavenger Hunt
For this activity, you will need to create a set of clues that lead your students to different objects around the classroom or school. Each clue should have a measurement associated with it, such as “find something that measures 12 inches.” The students will have to convert this measurement to different units to find the correct object. Whoever completes the scavenger hunt the fastest wins.
In conclusion, there are many activities that you can use to help your students learn how to convert customary units. By using these activities, you can make learning about measurements and conversions fun and engaging for your students. With practice and repetition, your students will become more confident in their ability to convert rates and measurements.