Land of Gallon - Customary Units of Measurement for Capacity

Measurement standards. Quarts. Pints. Cups. Students are asked to solve problems using measurements and conversions of measurement. Measurement conversions can be a challenge to remember.

Here is a strategy to help students remember conversions for capacity using customary units of measure. Teach students measurement conversions through storytelling.

In the Land of Gallon, there were four giant Queens.
Each Queen had a Prince and a Princess.
Each Prince and Princess had two children.
The two children were twins, and they were eight years old.

Once students are familiar with the story be sure they see the connection between the story pieces and the units of customary measurement for capacity. If necessary, label the story pieces with their corresponding units of measure. Queen = quart, Prince/Princess = pint, Children = cups, 8 Years Old = 8 fluid ounces. You can reduce the number of customary units included in the story based on student readiness. 

Be sure to explicitly show students how this story can help them to remember the following conversions:
4 quarts = 1 gallon
2 pints = 1 quart
2 cups = 1 pint
8 fluid ounces = 1 cup
8 pints = 1 gallon
16 cups = 1 gallon
128 fluid ounces = 1 gallon

Check out the story of "The Land of Gallon" by clicking the image below to download the story and the story pieces that can be used while telling the story.

https://app.box.com/s/e4n4pdu5d9ziu8jo7hzy9ztu2i0a1exh

You may have seen versions of this story. Have students change it up if they want to make it their own. Instead of the children being twins who were 8 years old, maybe they each had 8 toys or 8 frogs. Allow students to own the story.

Storytelling is one way to engage the brain during math class. "After a period of intense learning, storytelling enables the brain to relax and facilitates the retention of newly acquired material (Jensen 2000)." Give it a try!

Looking for additional reinforcement for capacity conversions? Click the image to check out these user-friendly task cards.

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