Distance Units - Measuring Penny

Day 3: Distance Units
We learned the differences between different length measuring units.

Up until this point everything we measured was measured in inches. But the kids are well aware of the existence of other units. First they each created a list of other units used for measuring distance.
 

Next we read Measuring Penny. Measuring Penny is a picture book about a child completing a measuring homework assignment. While performing the assignment, standard and non-standard units are used to measure dog tails, how high dogs can jump, how much dogs weigh and more.

After the story the kids each spent a few more minutes writing down units used to measure distance. As they read their lists to me, I wrote them down in categories of English Units, Metric Units, and Non-Standard Units.

In the English system there are 1760 yards per mile, three feet per yard, and twelve inches per foot. My 12 year old daughter knows that there are 5280 feet per mile, but I always have to look that one up. Conversely, in the metric system, there are 1000 meters per kilometer, 100 centimeters per meter and 10 millimeters per centimeter. After explaining this to the kids I asked them a few math questions using the numbers. They quickly decided they prefer the metric system.