Converting Unit - Miles and Kilometres - Planning

In a Year 6 class focused on converting units, students learn to approximate the conversion between miles and kilometres. The lesson introduces key vocabulary such as 'mile', 'kilometre', 'approximately', 'length', and 'convert', with resources available including worksheets and a presentation. The children begin by reviewing that 5 miles is roughly equivalent to 8 kilometres. They use this knowledge to tackle conversions in both directions, with the aid of a simple method: to convert from miles to kilometres, divide by 5 and multiply by 8, and to convert from kilometres to miles, do the opposite. The lesson is hands-on, with students practising these conversions through various activities and engaging in partner discussions to explore different strategies for efficient conversions.

As the lesson progresses, the children are introduced to an alternative approximation: 10 miles is about 16 kilometres. This new fact allows them to deduce that 1 mile is approximately 1.6 kilometres, which they can then use as a basis for further conversion exercises. In group work, students tackle reasoning problems and share their answers, discussing the strategies they used. The lesson aims to ensure that students understand the concept of approximation, denoted by the symbol '≈', and can apply multiplication and division to convert between miles and kilometres. The plenary encourages self-reflection, where students consider what they have learned, the skills they used, any challenges faced, and the key takeaways from the lesson. Differentiated activities cater to varying levels of mastery, from working towards fluency to achieving greater depth in problem-solving with conversions involving whole numbers and decimals.