Finding new and unique ways to teach converting measurements and keep your students engaged in the lessons you’re teaching can be difficult. Teaching how to convert measurements from one unit to another may not get your students excited, and the measurement system can be confusing. However, when you throw in games and hands-on activities, you’ve got their attention. I’m sharing fun ways to teach converting measurements in the metric system and the customary system, plus some really helpful measurement activities and resources!
4th grade math, 5th grade math, and 6th grade math teachers: this one’s for you! Read on to find out what units of measurement activities I use in my classroom.
Teach Converting Measurements with Tools
One thing that students need a lot of with math skills like this is practice, practice, practice. Any many of our students need scaffolding as they practice. I find that having various objects and measurement tools on hand helps with some visual learning. For example, I like to show my kids a regular ruler and a meter stick so they can see the difference between the measurement units and start to conceptualize that millimeters are smaller than meters, etc. I also make sure to tell them what the base units are – in this case, the base is meter.
Specifically with metric measurements, I also use these measurement conversion cards as tools and mini anchor charts to help my students as they perform unit conversion. I have cards for smaller units to larger units, and vice versa. The visual aids are key to student success with this concept!
Teach Converting Measurements with Board Games
Kids love games. When you can incorporate games into your lessons, it’s a win win for everyone! There are many great board games and puzzle activities to reinforce converting measurements. The extra practice will be much more fun when incorporated into a game. As I worked with my students over the years, I created several resources that are perfect for providing 4th and 5th graders with extra practice.
The Measurement Conversions Metric Units Board Game and the Measurement Conversions Customary Units Board Game are fun activities to practice converting metric units of length, mass, and capacity. This activity is perfect for small group or partner work, and the setup us easy. Print the game board and provide students with dice. You can even laminate the game board and easily reuse it year after year in your classroom.
Teach Converting Measurements with Spin & Answer Games
If you’re looking for a differentiated activity, this Measurement Conversions Spin and Answer is perfect! It includes 7 printable game boards that cover time, metric measurements, and customary measurements. Students spin a spinner (or good ol’ fashioned paper clips and pencil) and get a measurement number and unit (example: 7 mm). They then spin to find out what they need to convert that given unit to (example: cm). It’s a fast paced game that keeps my students engaged and they get authentic practice with conversions.
Teach Converting Measurements with Matching Games
If you want to practice converting measurements in an interactive way, I have some fun matching games for both metric units and customary units. In this matching game, students work in small groups, and they take puzzle pieces (one with a unit of measurement and one with a converted unit) and connect the pieces that match. This activity helps students connect the concept that our numbers look similar when we convert measurements. For example, in metric length: 9,670 mm = 9.67 m look very similar, but the placement of that decimal point matters. Each board game has different units of measurement based on the skill or units you need to work on.
Teach Converting Measurements with Solve the Room Task Cards
If you’re looking for an activity to get kids out of their seats and practicing conversion of units in measurement, try around-the-room room activities for customary units and metric units. Students go around the room and find cards that have measurement conversions on them. They also have a symbol, so students know where to write the answer to the problem. This practice activity is an effective way for the kids to solve these problems, and for me to collect data and see how my kids are doing with the concepts.
… And More!
Remember when I said that our kids need a lot of repetition and practice with converting measurements? They need so much practice that I created other activities for measurement conversions to provide even more options for my students. They have worked for me when I’m teaching conversion skills, and I know they’ll make a difference in your classroom too.
There are so many unique and hands-on ways to help your students practice converting measurements in a unique and fun way. Stressing the importance of understanding how to convert measurements and when they’ll use this skill in the real world and in their daily lives is important. Being sure to allow them plenty of time to practice with different units of measure will help them be successful!
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