Lesson 9 | Unit Conversions | 4th Grade Mathematics

Objective

Solve multi-step word problems involving conversion of customary units of length, weight, capacity, and time.

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

The core standards covered in this lesson

4.MD.A.2 — Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

Measurement and Data

4.MD.A.2 — Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

Foundational Standards

The foundational standards covered in this lesson

3.MD.A.1

Measurement and Data

3.MD.A.1 — Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.
3.MD.A.2

Measurement and Data

3.MD.A.2 — Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l). Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to represent the problem. Excludes multiplicative comparison problems (problems involving notions of "times as much"; Excludes compound units such as cm³ and finding the geometric volume of a container.
4.OA.A.3

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

4.OA.A.3 — Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

Criteria for Success

The essential concepts students need to demonstrate or understand to achieve the lesson objective

Make sense of a three-act task and persevere in solving it (MP.1).
Solve multi-step word problems involving customary units of length, weight, capacity, and time (MP.4).

Tips for Teachers

Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson

Let students work on each problem in the Problem Set independently and circulate to see whether students are solving correctly. If not, come back together to discuss how/what to draw on a tape diagram, then allow them to try again on their own.

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Anchor Tasks

Tasks designed to teach criteria for success of the lesson, and guidance to help draw out student understanding

Problem 1

Act 1: Look at the following image -

a. What do you notice? What do you wonder?

b. How much juice is left? Make an estimate.

Guiding Questions

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Problem 2

Act 2: Use the following information to determine how much juice is left -

Here is how much juice was in the container originally:

Someone has already had four servings of juice, each of which are 10 fluid ounces.

Guiding Questions

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Problem 3

Act 3: Reveal the answer –

How Much Apple Juice - Act 3

Was your answer reasonable? Why or why not?

Guiding Questions

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Problem 4

Act 4 (the sequel):

How many more full servings of juice are left in the bottle?

Guiding Questions

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Problem Set

Problem Set

Answer Keys

Unlock the answer keys for this lesson's problem set and extra practice problems to save time and support student learning.

Discussion of Problem Set

For #3, is 3 quarts 24 fluid ounces a correct answer? Why or why not?
For #4, is 28 pounds 39 ounces a correct answer? Why or why not?
How did you determine how many 15-minute jogs Calvin took? What made this problem particularly challenging to solve?
If you were asked to find the area of Mr. Foote’s deck in #6, what additional computation would you need to perform?
Will there be enough water in #7?
In #8, when should Ms. Cho leave? Why?
Some students use strategies that are creative and much different compared to the majority of the class. How can a student be sure their strategy works?

Target Task

A task that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved

Elysia, Ivan, and Silvio each go on a run. Elysia ran 1 mile. Elysia ran four times as far as Ivan. Silvio ran 5 fewer yards than Ivan. How far, in feet, did Silvio run?

Student Response

An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.

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Additional Practice

The Extra Practice Problems can be used as additional practice for homework, during an intervention block, etc. Daily Word Problems and Fluency Activities are aligned to the content of the unit but not necessarily to the lesson objective, therefore feel free to use them anytime during your school day.

Extra Practice Problems

Extra Practice Problems

Answer Keys

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Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Help students strengthen their application and fluency skills with daily word problem practice and content-aligned fluency activities.

Lesson 8

Lesson 10

Lesson Map

Topic A: Metric Unit Conversion

Express metric length measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require metric length unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express metric mass and capacity measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require metric mass or capacity unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Know and relate metric units to place value units in order to express measurements in different units.

4.MD.A.1

Solve multi-step word problems that requires metric unit conversions of length, mass, and capacity.

4.MD.A.2

Topic B: Customary Unit Conversion

Express customary length measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require customary length unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express customary weight measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require customary weight unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express customary capacity measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require customary capacity unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express time measurements in terms of a smaller unit, recording measurement equivalents in a two-column table. Solve one-step word problems that require time unit conversion.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Solve multi-step word problems involving conversion of customary units of length, weight, capacity, and time.

4.MD.A.2

Topic C: Fraction and Decimal Unit Conversions

Express fractional measurements in terms of a smaller unit.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Express decimal measurements in terms of a smaller unit.

4.MD.A.1 4.MD.A.2

Solve word problems involving converting fractional and decimal measurements to a smaller unit.

4.MD.A.2

Unit Conversions

Objective

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

Measurement and Data

Foundational Standards

Measurement and Data

Measurement and Data

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Criteria for Success

Tips for Teachers

Anchor Tasks

Problem 1

Guiding Questions

Problem 2

Guiding Questions

Problem 3

Guiding Questions

Problem 4

Guiding Questions

Problem Set

Discussion of Problem Set

Target Task

Student Response

Additional Practice

Extra Practice Problems

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Lesson Map

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