MA.7.AR.3.3

Benchmark Instructional Guide

Connecting Benchmarks/Horizontal Alignment

• MA.7.NSO.1.2 
• MA.7.NSO.2
• MA.7.AR.4.4
• MA.7.AR.4.5
• MA.7.GR.1
• MA.7.GR.2

Terms from the K-12 Glossary

• Area
• Capacity
• Customary Units
• Metric Units

Vertical Alignment

Previous Benchmarks

• MA.6.AR.3.5

Next Benchmarks

• MA.8.GR.1.2

Purpose and Instructional Strategies

• Focus on using conversion ratios to create equivalent values.
  • For example, if 1 foot = 12 inches, you can use the ratio of to solve problems.
• Students may also use conversion ratios in their science courses. Emphasize that multiplying by equivalent values of 1 does not change the value but gives an equivalent value in another unit of measurement.
• Instruction includes using manipulatives to estimate conversion ratios across measurement systems such as yard sticks, meter sticks, measuring cups and graduated cylinders (MTR.2.1).
• Students may need review on which units are used to measure length, volume and mass.
• Instruction includes using a reference sheet with conversion ratios.

Common Misconceptions or Errors

• Students may incorrectly place the values in a conversion ratio. To address this misconception, have students estimate values prior to calculations using the conversion ratio (MTR.6.1).

Strategies to Support Tiered Instruction

• Teacher provides opportunities for students to comprehend the context or situation by engaging in questions (laminating these questions on a printed card for students to utilize as a resource in and out of the classroom would be helpful).
  • What do you know from the problem?
  • What is the problem asking you to find?
  • Can you create a visual model to help you understand the problem?
• Teacher provides unit conversion sheet for students to determine the unit of measurement between different systems.
• Instruction focuses on using a unit conversion table to explicitly describe the process of converting between different units of measurement.
• Teacher provides instruction on color-coding and labeling the different units when setting up a proportional relationship to ensure corresponding units are placed in the corresponding positions within the proportion.
• Teacher encourages students to use their prior knowledge of proportions to convert unit of measurement across different measurement systems.
  
  
  
• Teacher provides students a visual of different units of measurements to compare and estimate the proper conversion ratio.
• Instruction includes the use of a three-read strategy. Students read the problem three different times, each with a different purpose (laminating these questions on a printed card for students to utilize as a resource in and out of the classroom would be helpful).
  • First, read the problem with the purpose of answering the question: What is the problem, context, or story about?
  • Second, read the problem with the purpose of answering the question: What are we trying to find out?
  • Third, read the problem with the purpose of answering the question: What information is important in the problem?
• Teacher has students estimate values prior to calculations using the conversion ratio (MTR.6.1).

Instructional Tasks

• Part A. What questions still need to be answered to approach this problem?
• Part B. The rates for CDN to the U.S. dollar and the rate of pesos to the CDN are shown below.
  • Rate of $1.02 CDN per $1 U.S.
  • Rate of 20.8 pesos per $1 CDN What is the value of Mexican pesos that Joe has now?

Instructional Items

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