1. Teacher Guide
This lesson is designed to teach kids to ask a critical thinking question that you can’t just put into a search box to solve. To do that, we encourage them with smaller questions that search can help them answer. Make sure that you read the notes for each slide: they not only give you teaching tips but also provide answers and hints so you can help the kids if they are having trouble.
Remember, you can always send feedback to the Bing in the Classroom team at You can learn more about the program at bing.com/classroom and follow the daily lessons on our Partners In Learning site.
Want to extend today’s lesson? Consider using Skype in the Classroom to arrange for your class to chat with another class in today’s location. And if you are using Windows 8, you can also use the Bing apps to learn more about this location and topic; the Travel and News apps in particular make great teaching tools.
Nell Bang-Jensen is a teacher and theater artist living in Philadelphia, PA. Her passion for arts education has led her to a variety of roles including developing curriculum for Philadelphia Young Playwrights and teaching at numerous theaters and schools around the city. She works with playwrights from ages four to ninety on developing new work and is especially interested in alternative literacies and theater for social change. A graduate of Swarthmore College, she currently works in the Artistic Department of the Wilma Theater and, in addition to teaching, is a freelance actor and dramaturg. In 2011, Nell was named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow and spent her fellowship year traveling to seven countries studying how people get their names.
This lesson is designed to teach the Common Core State Standard: Measurement & Data
CCSS.Math.Content.4.MD.A.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36), ...
CCSS.Math.Content.4.MD.A.2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

2. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location?
© Axel Flasbarth/500px
Having this up as kids come in is a great settle down activity. You can start class by asking them for thoughts about the picture or about ideas on how they could solve the question of the day.

3. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location?
Sitting in a bowl surrounded by the high desert plateau, this Andean capital is sometimes called “the city that touches the sky.” The snowy peak of Illimani watches over La Paz, frequently from behind a veil of clouds.
Depending on time, you can either have students read this silently to themselves, have one of them read out loud, or read it out loud yourself.

4. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 1
Web Search
Why is La Paz called the city that touches the sky? 2
How far above sea level is La Paz? What unit is used to describe its height? 3
How far above sea level is your current location? What unit is used to describe its height? 4
What do you think are appropriate units to measure height above sea level? What units are usually used? 5
How could you convert meters to feet? Make a conversion table that compares these two units.
There are a couple of ways to use this slide, depending on how much technology you have in your classroom. You can have students find answers on their own, divide them into teams to have them do all the questions competitively, or have each team find the answer to a different question and then come back together. If you’re doing teams, it is often wise to assign them roles (one person typing, one person who is in charge of sharing back the answer, etc.)

5. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 5
Minutes
You can adjust this based on how much time you want to give kids. If a group isn’t able to answer in 5 minutes, you can give them the opportunity to update at the end of class or extend time.

6. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 1
Web Search
Why is La Paz called the city that touches the sky? 2
How far above sea level is La Paz? What unit is used to describe its height? 3
How far above sea level is your current location? What unit is used to describe its height? 4
What do you think are appropriate units to measure height above sea level? What units are usually used? 5
How could you convert meters to feet? Make a conversion table that compares these two units.
You can ask the students verbally or let one of them come up and insert the answer or show how they got it. This way, you also have a record that you can keep as a class and share with parents, others.

7. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 1
Web Search
Why is La Paz called the city that touches the sky?
(Possible queries: “why is La Paz city that touches the sky?”, “La Paz, city that touches the sky”).
From
La Paz gives a feel of top of the world by all means. Located high above sea level at 3600 metres, this city earns the reputation of being one of the highest cities in the world. La Paz is the legislative capital and largest city of Bolivia. The city of Sucre is the official capital and judicial headquarters of the country.

8. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 2
Web Search
How far above sea level is La Paz? What unit is used to describe its height?
(Possible queries: “how far above sea level is La Paz?”, “how high is La Paz?”).
From
La Paz, the highest capital in the world, lies at an altitude of c.12,000 ft (3,660 m) and is crowded into a long, narrow valley cut by the La Paz River.
Students should note that in this example, the height of La Paz is described in both feet (ft) and meters (m).

9. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 3
Web Search
How far above sea level is your current location? What unit is used to describe its height?
Answers will vary depending on students’ locations. They should use the Bing Search bar to find their city or town’s altitude/elevation. If they are in a very rural or small town, it may help to search for the elevation of a bigger neighboring town.
For example, a student in Philadelphia should search for “altitude of Philadelphia” or “how high above sea level is Philadelphia?” or “elevation of city of Philadelphia ” and find on a website like this one: that Philadelphia is, on average, about 39 feet or 12 meters above sea level. They should note that, in this example, the units used to describe Philadelphia’s elevation are feet and meters.

10. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 4
Web Search
What do you think are appropriate units to measure height above sea level? What units are usually used?
(Possible queries: “height above sea level”, “measuring elevation of cities”).
Students should search for the height above sea level of various cities in order to do an informal survey of what units are used. They should note (on websites such as this one: that meters and feet seem to be most commonly used.
This conversation can also include a discussion of what units would not be appropriate to use. Leading answers could include: Why don’t you think elevation is measured in inches? Miles?

11. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location? 5
Web Search
How could you convert meters to feet? Make a conversion table that compares these two units.
(Possible queries: “convert meters to feet”, “convert feet to meters”).
Students should search online to find that there are approximately 3.3 feet in 1 meter, and meters in 1 foot. Based on this information, they should make a conversion chart like the one below.
Feet Meters
1 0.30
3.30 1
6.60 2
9.90 3
16.5 5
33 10

12. Using two different units of measurement, how would you express how much closer La Paz is to “touching the sky” than your current location?
This slide is a chance to summarize the information from the previous slides to build your final answer to the question. Students should have found the elevation of their current city (for example, in Philadelphia, they would be 39 feet or 12 meters above sea level), and the elevation of La Paz (12,000 feet or 3,660 meters above sea level) and be able to compare the two. They should also be prepared to talk about the difference in units (meters v. height) and why these are appropriate units for describing elevation. Answers will vary depending on students’ locations, but an equation might look like the one below:
12,000 feet (elevation of La Paz) – 39 feet (elevation of Philadelphia) = 11,961 feet.
In other words, La Paz is approximately 11,961 feet closer to “touching the sky” than the city of Philadelphia.