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Clarification 1: Problem types are limited to length, area, weight, mass, volume and money.Benchmark Instructional Guide
Connecting Benchmarks/Horizontal Alignment
Terms from the K-12 Glossary
- Area
- Capacity
- Customary Units
- Metric Units
Vertical Alignment
Previous Benchmarks
Next Benchmarks
Purpose and Instructional Strategies
In grade 6, students performed conversions within the same measurement system. In grade 7, students solve mathematical and real-world problems involving the conversion of units across different measurement systems. In grade 8, students will apply these conversions when solving problems involving the distance between two points in a coordinate plane.- Focus on using conversion ratios to create equivalent values.
- For example, if 1 foot = 12 inches, you can use the ratio of to solve problems.
- Students may also use conversion ratios in their science courses. Emphasize that multiplying by equivalent values of 1 does not change the value but gives an equivalent value in another unit of measurement.
- Instruction includes using manipulatives to estimate conversion ratios across measurement systems such as yard sticks, meter sticks, measuring cups and graduated cylinders (MTR.2.1).
- Students may need review on which units are used to measure length, volume and mass.
- Instruction includes using a reference sheet with conversion ratios.
Common Misconceptions or Errors
- Students may incorrectly place the values in a conversion ratio. To address this misconception, have students estimate values prior to calculations using the conversion ratio (MTR.6.1).
Strategies to Support Tiered Instruction
- Teacher provides opportunities for students to comprehend the context or situation by engaging in questions (laminating these questions on a printed card for students to utilize as a resource in and out of the classroom would be helpful).
- What do you know from the problem?
- What is the problem asking you to find?
- Can you create a visual model to help you understand the problem?
- Teacher provides unit conversion sheet for students to determine the unit of measurement between different systems.
- Instruction focuses on using a unit conversion table to explicitly describe the process of converting between different units of measurement.
- Teacher provides instruction on color-coding and labeling the different units when setting up a proportional relationship to ensure corresponding units are placed in the corresponding positions within the proportion.
- Teacher encourages students to use their prior knowledge of proportions to convert unit of measurement across different measurement systems.
- Teacher provides students a visual of different units of measurements to compare and estimate the proper conversion ratio.
- Instruction includes the use of a three-read strategy. Students read the problem three different times, each with a different purpose (laminating these questions on a printed card for students to utilize as a resource in and out of the classroom would be helpful).
- First, read the problem with the purpose of answering the question: What is the problem, context, or story about?
- Second, read the problem with the purpose of answering the question: What are we trying to find out?
- Third, read the problem with the purpose of answering the question: What information is important in the problem?
- Teacher has students estimate values prior to calculations using the conversion ratio (MTR.6.1).
Instructional Tasks
Instructional Task 1 (MTR.1.1, MTR.4.1)Joe was planning a business trip to Canada, so he went to the bank to exchange $200 U.S. dollars for Canadian (CDN) dollars. On the way home from the bank, Joe’s boss called to say that the destination of the trip had changed to Mexico City. Joe went back to the bank to exchange his Canadian dollars for Mexican pesos. What is the value of Mexican pesos that Joe has now?
- Part A. What questions still need to be answered to approach this problem?
- Part B. The rates for CDN to the U.S. dollar and the rate of pesos to the CDN are shown below.
- Rate of $1.02 CDN per $1 U.S.
- Rate of 20.8 pesos per $1 CDN What is the value of Mexican pesos that Joe has now?
Instructional Items
Instructional Item 1Jia is buying strings of lights to hang on her patio deck. She needs 80 feet of lights to go around the entire patio, but the lights she wants to buy are only sold in packs of 5 meters. If one meter is approximately 3.28 feet, how many packs of lights will Jia need for her patio?
Instructional Item 2
How many milliliters are in 12 fluid ounces?
Instructional Item 3
Convert 50 pounds to kilograms.
Instructional Item 4
When driving from London to Poland, the speed limit signs change from miles per hour (mph) to kilometers per hour (kph), but your rental car speedometer only reads in mph. If the speed limit on the highway is 100 kph, at what speed will you exceed the speed limit?
*The strategies, tasks and items included in the B1G-M are examples and should not be considered comprehensive.
Related Courses
Related Access Points
Related Resources
Formative Assessments
Lesson Plans
Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
Problem-Solving Tasks
Tutorial
STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity
In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will help analyze, compare, and select fencing options for a college’s pool and recreation area. Students will use unit conversions, calculate total costs, and justify their recommendations to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills within a purchasing context.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
Students at a local middle school are interested in attending a basketball tournament in Orlando. There is an entrance fee and hotel costs to consider. Students must calculate the total cost and the cost per student to attend the tournament. Each hotel has different qualities that could influence the students' choice of which hotel is best for their team.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In this Model Eliciting Activities, MEA, students will calculate unit rate & circumference, compare & order decimals, convert metric units, and round decimals. Bubble Burst Corporation has developed some chewing gum prototypes and has requested the students to assist in the selection of which gum prototypes will be mass produced by using both quantitative and qualitative data to rank the prototypes for Bubble Burst Corporation.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
The principal of Central Middle School is thinking of adding pizza to the lunch menu on Mondays and Fridays but needs help deciding the costs per slice and what students think is important about the pizza. After the students' initial decision about the pizza the principal remembers that there is a delivery charge.The students must revisit their decision and do additional calculations to see if their original process still works.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will analyze data related to tiling rooms in a house. Students will calculate the square footage of various rooms, convert measurements to determine the amount of tile needed, and compute both the cost of the tiles and the cost of installation. They will evaluate and compare different flooring options based on cost, quality, and installation factors, and develop a procedure to recommend the best choices.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx
In this 7th grade MEA Laura Banks requests a consulting firm, JJ Consulting, to help her make a decision on an employer. Students are to use the data table to calculate unit rates (nightly rate and hourly rate) and then rank her choices and write a recommendation with the procedure used to come up with the ranking.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In this MEA, the students will be able to convert measurements within systems and between systems. They will be able to use problem solving skills to create a process for ranking orange juices for a Bed and Breakfast.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In the Sugar Scrub MEA students will analyze 5 sugar scrub formulas. In the first part, students are asked to evaluate each formula based on color, scent, and exfoliation. In the second part, students apply their methodology to a cost analysis of the scrubs.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx.
This activity engages the students into time scheduling, budgeting, and decision making to maximize time efficiency.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx.
This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) presents students with the real-world problem of contaminated drinking water. Students are asked to provide recommendations for a non-profit organization working to help a small Romanian village acquire clean drinking water. They will work to develop the best temporary strategies for water treatment, including engineering the best filtering solution using local materials. Students will utilize measures of center and variation to compare data, assess proportional relationships to make decisions, and perform unit conversions across different measurement systems.
MFAS Formative Assessments
Students are asked to choose and justify the unit to be used in a formula and are asked to choose and explain the unit used in the answer.
Students are asked to find the approximate number of trees that are saved by using recycled paper.
Student Resources
Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
<p>Get fired up as you learn more about ceramic glaze recipes and mathematical units.</p>
Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
Problem-Solving Tasks
Students are asked to determine the change in height in inches when given a constant rate of change in centimeters. The answer is rounded to the nearest half inch.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
In this task, students are presented with a real-world problem involving the price of an item on sale. To answer the question, students must represent the problem by defining a variable and related quantities, and then write and solve an equation.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
Tutorial
In this lesson, students will be viewing a Khan Academy video that will show how to convert ratios using speed units.
Type: Tutorial
Parent Resources
Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
<p>Get fired up as you learn more about ceramic glaze recipes and mathematical units.</p>
Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast
Problem-Solving Tasks
Students are asked to determine the change in height in inches when given a constant rate of change in centimeters. The answer is rounded to the nearest half inch.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
In this task, students are presented with a real-world problem involving the price of an item on sale. To answer the question, students must represent the problem by defining a variable and related quantities, and then write and solve an equation.
Type: Problem-Solving Task
