Objects have size.  One way to measure size is length, a property of matter.  While some things can me measured in inches, feet, or yards...the United States is the only country to do that.  Every other country uses the metric system: centimeters, meters, and kilometers. 

Use a centimeter ruler to measure different parts of your body.  Write your measurements right on the cut out!!!  When you are done, get the link & paste it into the comments.  Remember to include your total metric measurement...How many centimeters are you? 

Are You Done Yet?
Try this site, Matthew's Metric Gum Parlor, for some metric fun!!!

My dog Blue, a massive Great Dane, loved to dig holes for her bones and toys.  Every time my mother got her a new chew toy, pig ear, or marrow bone Blue immediately tucked it in her mouth.  Standing by the door quietly, she waited until my mother opened the door for her and trotted outside with her new toy.  She sniffed out a patch of grass and began to dig.  Once the hole was dug, she plopped her toy into the hole and padded the dirt on top of it, subsequently burying it.  One day my mother looked out our kitchen window and realized that there was just a patch of grass left.  Our entire backyard was mounds of dirt, created by Blue.  My mom decided to reseed the yard (and stop buying Blue toys), but before she did that she had to dig her toys up!  What a chore that was because Blue's holes were huge.  All the holes were well over a foot wide, but none were more than four feet wide.  But...none were an even foot.  Some had an additional couple of inches while others had a few or several.  Needless to say it took days to retrieve her toys.  How big could one of Blue's holes be? 

• State the width in feet and inches (ex: 6 ft, 7 in.) and then convert that measurement into all inches (ex: 79 inches).  Remember to use your multiplication strategies to help you!!!
• Explain how you solved this.

• When you are done, do our incredibly fun TweetQuest
  

Growing up I had a crotchety old neighbor with a beautiful pool in his backyard.  As kids we would stop in front of his house and stare at the pool on hot summer days.  When he saw us, he would growl, "You kids better think again about putting your foot an inch in my yard!"  Scared we would immediately run away.  Then, one day, he wasn't home. So we did.  But it was certainly more than an inch, but not more than 5 yards,  to the refreshing pool!

1. How far did we have to walk from the street to the pool?
2. Convert it!  How many inches, feet, and yards would that be?
3. Explain your solution.
   

The fire alarm rang, and the firemen rushed to the fire trucks to attend to the fire.  It was quite a distance from the firehouse to the fire, but once they got there they realized they just had to rescue a cat from a tree.  The firemen took the ladder off of the truck and put it up against the tree so they could get the cat down.  The first fireman climbed the ladder, and as he got closer to the cat the cat sprung off of a lower branch to higher one.  WHACK! The branch hit the fireman in the face, he lost his balance, and fell to the ground.  So, a second fireman climbed the ladder to retrieve the cat.  As he was walking up the ladder he slipped on a leaf that fell from the branch that hit the first fireman in the face.  Down to the ground he went.  Luckily, three fireman answered the call to rescue the cat.  The third fireman carefully climbed the ladder, one rung at a time, to rescue the cat.  He finally reached the cat and was able to capture it safely in his hands.  Down the ladder they went and the fireman returned the cat safely to its ever so grateful owner.  When the fireman returned, they had to file a report about that including every tiny detail. 

Choose 3 things to include in the report. 

• the distance from the firehouse to the fire call
• the length of the ladder used to rescue the cat
  
• the distance the cat jumped from the lower branch to the higher branch
  
• the length of the branch that hit the first fireman in the face
• how long of a fall for the first fireman
  
• the length of the leaf that the second fireman slipped on
• how long of a fall the second fireman had
• the distance between the rungs on the ladder
• the height of the cat

When you comment remember to...

1. Name State whether it would be measured in inches (in.), feet (ft.), or miles (mi.) 
   
2. Explain why that measurement makes the best sense.