Lesson 7

Meters and Centimeters

Lesson Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is for students to make sense of the relative size of meters and centimeters and to express meters in terms of centimeters.

Lesson Narrative

In earlier grades, students measured and estimated lengths in centimeters and meters to develop a sense of each. They learned that there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter. This lesson helps students see the relationship between centimeters and meters in terms of multiplicative comparison (MP7). Building on their work in previous lessons, students recognize 1 meter as being 100 times as long as 1 centimeter. They use this understanding to convert measurements in meters into centimeters.

  • Representation
  • MLR8

Learning Goals

Teacher Facing

  • Express meters in terms of centimeters.
  • Understand the relative size of meters and centimeters.

Student Facing

  • Let’s explore lengths in meters and centimeters.

Required Materials

Materials to Gather

Materials to Copy

  • Centimeter Grid Paper - Standard

Required Preparation

CCSS Standards

Building On

Addressing

Lesson Timeline

Warm-up 10 min
Activity 1 25 min
Activity 2 10 min
Lesson Synthesis 10 min
Cool-down 5 min

Teacher Reflection Questions

What evidence do you have that students are thinking conceptually about “100 times as many” and not simply adding zeros to the end of a number without reasoning?

Suggested Centers

  • How Close? (1–5), Stage 6: Multiply to 3,000 (Addressing)
  • Compare (1–5), Stage 3: Multiply within 100 (Supporting)

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