Lesson: No Snow Required

Play the video “CopenHill Waste-to-Energy Plant.” Then, before or after reading the article, spark a discussion based on the following questions:

• Where does our trash go once it is collected at our homes?
• What are some ways we can decrease what we throw away?
• How do engineers create ski slopes that allow you to travel at different speeds?

• How many tens are in 3,000? (300) How many hundreds? (30) How many thousands? (3)
• How many ones are in 3? (3) How many tenths? (30) How many hundredths? (300)
  
• We can use powers of 10 to name a number in different ways.
• Today we are going use powers of 10 to convert, or change, one unit of measure to another within the metric system. This system includes measurements that use meter, liter, and gram as the base units.
  

• What are meters used to measure? (the length or distance of something)
• How was the table used to convert 85 meters to hectometers? (To convert 85 meters to hectometers, you need to divide 85 by 100 since a hectometer is 100 times larger than a meter.)
• How do you divide a whole number by a fraction? (You change the division symbol to a multiplication sign. Then you multiply the whole number by the reciprocal of the fraction.)
• Why are there fewer hectometers than meters? (Hectometers are a larger unit than meters. A meter is 100 times smaller than a hectometer.)
• How many meters are equal to 1 hectometer? (100 meters)

Have students complete problems 1 through 4 on page 11 of the article.

Skills Sheets: Level Down: Choose the Appropriate Measurement (4.MD.A.1) | On Level: DynaDash: Metric Distance Conversions (5.MD.A.1) | Level Up: Converting Customary Liquid Measurements (5.MD.A.1)

SEL (Social-emotional learning activity/prompt): CopenHill is an example of a multipurpose attraction that helps the environment. Ask students to find items from around their home that can be reused or recycled. Then have students either create or draw a design of how they can use their item(s) for at least two purposes.

Dynamath@Home: Have students gather 5 liquid household products, food, or beverage items that have weights or capacities labeled in milliliters or liters with a parent’s permission. Then have them create a table showing these measurements for each unit: milliliters, centiliters, deciliters, liters, decaliters, hectoliters and kiloliters.