PrefixIslandNtheConversion+Canoe

**New Idea**...(Student conversion ideas: hopscotch, Ferris wheel, planets & panda-rocket, Metric Conversion Devices

**Activity: Prefix Island and the Conversion Canoe.**


An example paper device for converting between metric prefixes. (Based on a silly/overly dramatic story at the end.)

Story: The prefix islands each used a different currency. When trading among the islands, the traders needed to convert between the money systems of each island. To do this they used the prefixes written on the seats of their trading canoes.

Silly story to get students to invest and listen. (Silly story: A boy who is not on a girl's radar moves seats to sit by her. The girl is startled by the boy trying to share her seat and she knocks him into the water. She wasn’t paying attention to the creeper because he was too immature to prepare himself for a career like she did. The boy didn't realize his lack of preparation would result in him swimming with sharks. The girl travels on to find her place in the sun. The end.) Part Two: The boy washes up on an island. He regains consciousness on a deserted island. The boy doesn't know who he is or how he got there, but he has a large bump on his head. He finds he has a spyglass so he thinks he is a pirate. He survives on coconuts and limpets. He occupies himself by collecting plastic that floats up on the beach to protect the sea life. After a few years he uses a lens from his spyglass to melt the plastic bags together to make a canoe shaped plastic bag and then he stuffed it with coconut fibers. He sets to sea and finds his little island is in the middle of a chain of seven islands with friendly natives. The natives use coconut fibers to make everything, so he is a rich man due to his years of eating coconuts.

Pieces:
 * Draw a boy and a girl smiley face. Then tape them to paperclips
 * Label seven islands with the metric prefixes. The middle island is labeled “base unit.”
 * Line up the islands from biggest prefix to smallest prefix going left to right.
 * Label the middle canoe seat with “base unit.”
 * Label each canoe seat from biggest prefix on the left to smallest prefix on the right.

Instructions: Note the prefix of the number given and the prefix of the unit you are converting to. Place the boy at the seat labeled with the prefix of the starting prefix. Place the girl at the seat labeled with the prefix of the ending prefix. Start the canoe at the island with the starting prefix. Move the canoe one island at a time towards the island with the ending prefix. Each time the canoe reaches a new island, the boy sneaks one seat closer to the girl. Count each new seat the boy moves to or each new island reached by the canoe. When the boy is sitting in the same seat as the girl, the conversion is complete. Write the converted value by: Move the decimal in the same direction and the same amount as the boy changed seats. Or m ove the decimal in the same direction and for the same amount as the island count.

How the paper device works: The device uses a list of prefixes with kilo on the left and milli on the right. 1st – The starting point was determined 2nd – The number of prefixes are counted to reach the ending point. 3rd – The decimal is moved the same number of places in the same direction as the prefixes moved in the list.

Compare this to how the metric prefix list is used. 1st – Determine your starting point. 2nd – Count the “jumps” to your ending point. 3rd – Move the decimal the same number of jumps in the same direction.







Student products:  1. Students complete Metric Mania 1 worksheet  2. Students attempt to write how to convert between metric units. This should be in their own words. Students could describe how they used the manipulatives to convert between metric units would also be acceptable. Extension: A story could also be made to go with the island and canoe pictures, but how to convert must be embedded in the story.



http://science7cottrell.wikispaces.com/Table+1+Moving+Decimals http://science7cottrell.wikispaces.com/Table+2+Metric+Prefixes http://science7cottrell.wikispaces.com/Table+3+Organize+by+2+Facts http://science7cottrell.wikispaces.com/Table+4+by+3+Rows http://science7cottrell.wikispaces.com/Prefix+Conversion+Table+7+By+6 http://sciencecottrell.wikispaces.com/Metric+Prefix+Organization 7th Grade Metric Stair Case and Paper Device http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/Metric+System+Notes http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/Metric+System+Reading+Guide http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/Converting+Between+Metric+Prefixes http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/Metric+System+Review http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/Paper+Prefix+Conversion+Calculators http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/PrefixIslandNtheConversion+Canoe http://lifescitpjhs.wikispaces.com/Metric+Conversion+Devices