Lesson 7 | Unit Conversions | 4th Grade Mathematics

Objective

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.

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

The core standards covered in this lesson

4.MD.A.1 — Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two column table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36), …

Measurement and Data

4.MD.A.1 — Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two column table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36), …
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

4.OA.A.1

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

4.OA.A.1 — Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison, e.g., interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5. Represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.

Criteria for Success

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

Establish benchmarks for the customary units of a gallon, quart, pint, cup, and fluid ounce.
Understand that a gallon is four times more capacious than a quart, a quart is twice as capacious as a pint, a pint is twice as capacious as a cup, and a cup is eight times as capacious as a fluid ounce.
Use these relationships to convert measurements from a larger customary capacity unit to a smaller unit (MP.7, MP.8).
Use these relationships to convert measurements from mixed customary capacity units to a smaller unit (MP.7, MP.8).
Solve one-step word problems that require customary capacity unit conversions (MP.4).

Tips for Teachers

Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson

Lesson Materials

1-quart container (1 per teacher) — There are other options to use in place of this material. See Anchor Task 1 for more information.
1-gallon container (1 per teacher) — There are other options to use in place of this material. See Anchor Task 1 for more information.
Water (About 2 gallons per teacher) — See Anchor Task 1 for more information.
1-cup container (1 per teacher) — There are other options to use in place of this material. See Anchor Task 1 for more information.
1-pint container (1 per teacher) — There are other options to use in place of this material. See Anchor Task 1 for more information.

Fishtank Plus

Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.

Anchor Tasks

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

Problem 1

Use a gallon, quart, pint, and cup container and water to answer the following questions.

a. What do you notice about the relationship between the capacity of a gallon and the capacity of a quart?

b. What do you notice about the relationship between the capacity of a quart and the capacity of a pint?

c. What do you notice about the relationship between the capacity of a pint and the capacity of a cup?

d. What do you notice about the relationship between the capacity of a cup and the capacity of a fluid ounce?

Guiding Questions

Create a free account or sign in to access the Guiding Questions for this Anchor Problem.

Problem 2

Fill in the following conversion tables.

Gallons (gal)	Quarts (qt)
1
2
3
6

Quarts (qt)	Pints (pt)
1
2
4
7

Pints (pt)	Cups (c)
1
2
5
9

Cups (c)	Fluid ounces (fl oz)
1
3
7
12

Guiding Questions

Create a free account or sign in to access the Guiding Questions for this Anchor Problem.

Problem 3

Joseph is told to dissolve a medicine in 1 pint 4 ounces of water. He has a measuring cup marked in ounces. How many ounces of water should he pour?

Guiding Questions

Create a free account or sign in to access the Guiding Questions for this Anchor Problem.

Problem 4

Dominica’s mom signs up to bring a gallon of fruit punch to the family potluck. She plans to use the following recipe:

Fruit Punch

Ingredients:

2 (6 ounce) cans frozen orange juice concentrate
2 (6 ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate
1 (3 pint) can pineapple juice
3 cups water
1 quart 2 ounces soda

Will this recipe yield a gallon of fruit punch? If not, how much more fruit punch would she need to make? If so, how much more than a gallon will she have?

Guiding Questions

Create a free account or sign in to access the Guiding Questions for this Anchor Problem.

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

How did you figure out how many pints are in a gallon in #2(g)? In four gallons in #2(h)?
If someone wanted to find the number of pints or quarts in 150 gallons, would it make sense to use the conversion table to solve? Why is understanding the conversion rule important?
How did you solve #3? Which strategy is most efficient?
How did you figure out how many cups are in a gallon in #6(i?) How many fluid ounces are in a gallon in #6(j)?
When measuring liquid, such as a bottle of drinking water, which customary unit could I use? Which metric unit could I use?

Target Task

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

Problem 1

Complete the table.

Cups	Fluid Ounces
1
2
3

Problem 2

The Ajith family buys a gallon of orange juice. They drink 2 cups of juice per day. Will the gallon of orange juice be enough to last the Ajith family for a week? Explain how you know.

Student Response

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

Create a free account or sign in to view Student Response

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

Answer keys for Problem Sets and Extra Practice Problems are available with a Fishtank Plus subscription.

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

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

Lesson 6

Lesson 8

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 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

Measurement and Data

Foundational Standards

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Criteria for Success

Tips for Teachers

Lesson Materials

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

Problem 1

Problem 2

Student Response

Additional Practice

Extra Practice Problems

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Lesson Map

Request a Demo

Contact Information

School Information

What courses are you interested in?

ELA

Math

Are you interested in onboarding professional learning for your teachers and instructional leaders?

Any other information you would like to provide about your school?

Effective Instruction Made Easy