The students will be able to convert meters to centimeters and to millimeters.

The students will be able to convert feet to meters, and vice versa.

The students will gain an understanding of the concept of "scale" and be able to demonstrate it by creating their own scale as it applies to the Titanic.

Materials:

yardstick

ruler

map

string

Time:

This lesson will take one hour of class time.

Procedure:

1.  Introduce the topics to be covered in the next hour: scale and conversion.

2.  Discuss conversion from meters to centimeters and then to millimeters using a yardstick.

3.  The students will measure their desktop, or another object in the room, in meters and then convert it to centimeters.

4.  Then discuss scale and how it is related to conversion. Show the students a map with a scale on it and explain what this means.

5.  The students will look at a map in small groups and measure distances. Then they will convert them using the scale.

6.  Introduce the concept of scale with regards to the Titanic. Give the students the measurements of the length of the Titanic, the height of the Empire State Building, and the height of the school.

7.  Each group will figure out how many school heights there are in the height of the Empire State Building, and then of the Titanic.

8.  The groups will make up their own scale in regards to how big the Titanic was. They will draw the length of the Titanic on a piece of paper, and then write down their scale.

9.  The groups will exchange with each other and calculate each others' scales.

Assessment:

The students will be evaluated on the completion of the scale model in their groups. Criteria for success: 4 = model accurately represents actual artifact. They will also be evaluated on their ability to do simple conversions, as shown in the activity where the student measures an object in the room and converts it. Criteria for success: done with 90% accuracy.

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

Math - converting, measuring, using a yardstick

Language Arts - creating definitions for the words scale and conversion

The Titanic - developed by Kelly Coleman, Nikki Cosgrove, Megan Mills, & Dorothy Weber

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This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program.