E2.1 Measure length, area, mass, and capacity using the appropriate metric units, and solve problems that require converting smaller units to larger ones and vice versa.
Activity 1: Capacity Conversion
Goal
In this activity, students will make conversions between units of capacity to solve a problem.
Material
- base 10 materials in blue and red
- sheet of paper, pencil, eraser, ruler
- Cuisenaire® rods
- interlocking cubes
- calculator
- the following problem on a large piece of cardboard: Karim has an aquarium that holds 12 litres of water. To solve an algae problem, he must put a drop of special solution for every 250 mL of water. How many drops will he need to put in his aquarium to fix the algae problem?
Instructions
Provide exploratory activities about the capacity of various containers in millilitres and litres (for example, verify the stated capacity of various containers using capacity-measuring tools such as 2 mL, 5 mL, 10 mL, 20 mL, 25 mL, 30 mL, and 50 mL syringes, graduated cylinders, 250 mL and 500 mL containers).
Provide exploratory activities on the relationships between certain units of capacity such as litres and millilitres (for example, measure the capacity of various containers with small cubes, tabs, boards, and base 10 materials).
Form teams of two or three students.
Provide each team with sheets of white paper, pencils and connecting cubes.
Present questions such as:
- How many mL are there in 1 L?
- How many mL are there in 5 L?
- How many times can 100 mL be poured into a 500 mL container before it overflows?
- How many times can 200 mL be poured into 1000 mL container before it overflows?
- How many times can 50 mL be poured into a litre container before it overflows?
Show and discuss the problem with the students to make sure everyone understands it.
Allow sufficient time for students to attempt to solve the problem using the materials available to them.
Allow teams to present their strategy to other students during the debrief of the activity.
Source: translated from L'@telier - Ressources pédagogiques en ligne (atelier.on.ca).
Activity 2: Placing Lengths in Ascending Order
Order the lengths below, from smallest to largest.
0.4 dm 340 cm 3 m 0.002 km 340 mm
Source: translated from En avant les maths!, 6e année, CM, Sens de l’espace, p. 3.