Mathematics / Year 6 / Measurement and Geometry / Using units of measurement

Curriculum content descriptions

Convert between common metric units of length, mass and capacity (ACMMG136)

Elaborations
  • identifying and using the correct operations when converting units including millimetres, centimetres, metres, kilometres, milligrams, grams, kilograms, tonnes, millilitres, litres, kilolitres and megalitres
  • recognising the significance of the prefixes in units of measurement
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
ScOT terms

Kilograms,  Metres

Video

Catalyst: Small scale measurements

What units of measurements do we use to describe incredibly small things like blood cells and atoms? Watch as you are taken on a journey to explain the different units of measurement that we use to describe the very small.

Interactive

Sites2See – measurement for primary

Selected links to a range of interactive and print resources for Measurement topics in K-6 Mathematics.

Downloadable

Drone safety lesson: How close, how far?

This lesson provides an authentic context to develop skills of estimation and measuring length. It provides an opportunity for students to connect decimal representations to the metric system and convert from centimetres to metres, and metres to kilometres. It also provides a context to investigate and become familiar with ...

Video

Modelling climate changes

There is a saying: 'climate is what you expect and weather is what you get'. |Understanding climate change is very difficult for most people, especially when the weather we experience is different from the information we are given by scientists about the climate changing. The difference is that weather reflects short-term ...

Interactive

Numeracy wrap: The long and the short

In this resource students measure objects of different length in centimetres and millimetres, order lengths from shortest to longest, convert between millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres.

Video

Catalyst: Measuring our coastline

How long is the Australian coastline? See Dr Derek Muller and Simon Pampena discussing the perimeter of the Australian coastline. Find out how the accuracy of that measurement depends on the length of the 'measuring stick' used. They discuss how a coastline is much like a fractal such as 'Koch's Snowflake'!

Online

Volume and its units of measurement

This is a website designed for both teachers and students that refers to the study of volume and capacity and their units. It contains material on finding the volume of rectangular prisms, the units of volume and capacity, and understanding the connection between volume and capacity. There are pages for both teachers and ...

Online

Making a large wicking bed

Wicking beds are a fantastic invention, allowing crops to be watered more efficiently. Making a large wicking bed does involve a few steps and some preparation, however the benefits of this extra effort are water conservation, improved plant growth and better crops. The design of the wicking bed also provides opportunities ...

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Nets, shapes … and donuts!

In this lesson, students learn about industrial engineering and explore designing cardboard packaging nets that can be folded into innovative packages.

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Work Unit: Mr Moon’s feathery problem - Calculate

This unit of work provides a rich, contextual activity through which students can explore the applications of measurement (length, area and capacity), to a real problem in an everyday context for Students in Years 5 & 6.

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'Mission to Mars' - An AMSI Schools 'Rich Task' in Number & Place Value - Calculate

This task aims provide a rich, contextual activity through which students can gain an understanding of the distances relevant to the size of our solar system, and how an understanding of place value, metric measurement systems and time measurement can be used to represent these large distances and convert calculations ...

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Converting Measures Year 6 - Calculate

The focus of this activity is to find out what students know and understand about length and the metric system.

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Converting Decimals Year 6 - Calculate

This task introduces students to a practical situation that involves multiplying and dividing decimals by powers of 10. We want students to focus to use what they know about the measurement in order to explain how to convert them, rather than simply applying a procedure.

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Work sample Year 6 Mathematics: How tall?

This work sample demonstrates evidence of student learning in relation to aspects of the achievement standards for Year 6 Mathematics. The primary purpose for the work sample is to demonstrate the standard, so the focus is on what is evident in the sample not how it was created. The sample is an authentic representation ...

Downloadable

First steps in mathematics: Measurement – Book 2

A guide to teaching about measurement including indirect measuring, and estimating.

Downloadable

Convert me

Students explore measurement prefixes and convert between units of measurement.

Downloadable

Assessment tasks: metric units and relationship to decimals

Use the diagnostic tasks, Page sections and Decimals and measures, to assess a student’s understanding of metric units and their relationship to decimals.

Downloadable

Measurement: Foundation to Year 9

This comprehensive resource describes the progression of measurement ideas. The resource demonstrates examples of relevant teaching strategies, investigations, activity plans and connected concepts in measurement including teaching and cultural implications.

Online

Metric units and using instruments: Year 6 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 6 is for the topic of Metric units and using instruments. Students make connections between the metric system and decimals. The metric system is linked to the base 10 number system, in that each unit is a power of 10. The base unit represents 100 = 1 and the other units grow or decrease by ...

Video

Decimal fractions video

Use this video to explore decimal fractions, how they are represented and how we use them in day-to-day contexts.