Converting Between Customary Units of Measurements

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Customary Units of Measurement Conversions Guided Notes w/ Doodles | 5th Grade

Customary Units of Measurement Conversions Guided Notes w/ Doodles | 5th Grade

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Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

  • Identify and define common customary units of measurement such as inches, feet, yards, miles, ounces, pounds, and gallons.
  • Convert measurements within the same unit (e.g., inches to feet, ounces to pounds) using multiplication and division.
  • Convert measurements between different units within the same system (e.g., inches to feet, feet to yards) using a conversion factor.


Prerequisites

Before this lesson, students should be familiar with:

  • Knowledge of whole number and decimal operations


Key Vocabulary

  • Customary Units
  • Conversions


Procedure

Introduction

As a hook, ask students why understanding customary units of measurement conversions is important in everyday life. Refer to the last page of the guided notes as well as the FAQs below for ideas.

Use the first page of the guided notes to introduce the concept of converting customary units of measurements. Go through how converting from larger to smaller units of measurements vs. converting from smaller to larger units of measurements. Walk through the key points such as identifying common customary units (inches, feet, yards, miles, cups, pints, quarts, gallons, ounces, pounds, etc.) and the relationships between them. Students will be filling out the guided notes as you teach.

Then, have students practice some of the conversions using the second page of the guided notes. Based on student responses, reteach concepts that students need extra help with regarding the initial introduction to customary units of measurements. If your class has a wide range of proficiency levels, you can pull out students for reteaching, and have more advanced students begin work on the practice exercises.

Practice

Have students practice converting customary units of measurement using the practice worksheet provided in the resource, such as escape the maze (pg. 3). Walk around to answer student questions.

Fast finishers can dive into the color by number activity (pg. 4) for extra practice. You can assign it as homework for the remainder of the class.

Real-Life Application

Using the last page of the guided notes, bring the class back together, and introduce the concept of applying customary units of measurement conversions in real-life scenarios such as cooking, determining distances on road trips, or converting measurements in DIY projects. Refer to the FAQ for more ideas on how to teach it!

Extensions

Additional Self-Checking Digital Practice

If you’re looking for digital practice for converting customary units of measurement, try my Pixel Art activities in Google Sheets. Every answer is automatically checked, and correct answers unlock parts of a mystery picture. It’s incredibly fun, and a powerful tool for differentiation.

Here’s 1 activity to explore:


FAQs

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