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 the Microsoft Educator Network.
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, take a Skype lesson on today’s topic, or invite a guest speaker to expand on today’s subject. And if you are using Windows 8, the panoramas in the MSN Travel App are great teaching tools. We have thousands of other education apps available on Windows here.
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. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada?
© Jeffrey Murray/Aurora Photos
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. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada?
Even if you’ve been here before, visiting Yosemite National Park in winter may feel like you’re seeing the iconic park for the first time. Snowfall can mean trail and road closures, but opens up new ways to experience the natural wonders of this California wilderness.
Here we see the waters of the Merced River flowing past the base of El Capitan. The Merced flows swiftly through the park in Yosemite Valley, but winter water levels are generally lower and slower, echoing the stillness of the forest under a heavy blanket of snow.
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. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 1
Web Search
What system of measurement does the unit “miles” belong to? Where is this system of measurement used? What is the distance of the Merced River in this unit? 2
What system of measurement is used in Mexico and Canada? How is distance measured in this system? 3
Web Search/Thinking
Use an online calculator to help you make a conversion table that compares miles and kilometers. Which is longer, 1 kilometer or 1 mile? 4
If you knew what a distance measured in kilometers was, how could you convert this amount to miles? 5
If you knew what a distance measured in miles was, how could you convert this amount to kilometers?
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. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 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. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 1
Web Search
What system of measurement does the unit “miles” belong to? Where is this system of measurement used? What is the distance of the Merced River in this unit? 2
What system of measurement is used in Mexico and Canada? How is distance measured in this system? 3
Web Search/Thinking
Use an online calculator to help you make a conversion table that compares miles and kilometers. Which is longer, 1 kilometer or 1 mile? 4
If you knew what a distance measured in kilometers was, how could you convert this amount to miles? 5
If you knew what a distance measured in miles was, how could you convert this amount to kilometers?

7. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 1
Web Search
What system of measurement does the unit “miles” belong to? Where is this system of measurement used? What is the distance of the Merced River in this unit?
(Possible queries: “system of measurement, miles”, “what system of measurement do miles belong to?”, “how long is the Merced River?”).
From
A mile is a unit of length most commonly equivalent to 5,280 feet or 1,760  yards (about 1,609 metres). While most countries replaced the mile with the kilometre when switching to the International System of Units, the international mile continues to be used in some countries such as Liberia, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
And from
The Merced River in the central part of the U.S. state of California is a 145-mile tributary of the San Joaquin River.

8. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 2
Web Search
What system of measurement is used in Mexico and Canada? How is distance measured in this system?
(Possible queries: “what system of measurement is used in Canada?”, “what system of measurement is used in Mexico?”, “how is distance measured in the metric system?”).
From
Canada has converted to the metric system for many purposes but there is still significant use of non-metric units and standards in many sectors of the Canadian economy.
And from
Long distances are measured in kilometers (km), with one kilometer representing one thousand meters. Small objects can be measured with centimeters (cm) or millimeters (mm).

9. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 3
Web Search/Thinking
Use an online calculator to help you make a conversion table that compares miles and kilometers. Which is longer, 1 kilometer or 1 mile?
(Possible queries: “convert miles to kilometers” “online conversion, miles to kilometers”).
Students should use the help of an online calculator (such as the one found here: to make a conversion table. They should understand, from doing this, that the 1 mile is longer than 1 kilometer.
Answers will vary, but the table should look something like the following:
Miles Kilometers

10. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 4
Web Search
If you knew what a distance measured in kilometers was, how could you convert this amount to miles?
(Possible queries: “how to convert kilometers to miles”, “converting kilometers to miles”).
From
To convert kilometers to miles, multiply the kilometer figure by For example, 500 km equals miles.

11. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada? 5
Web Search
If you knew what a distance measured in miles was, how could you convert this amount to kilometers?
(Possible queries: “how to convert miles to kilometers”, “converting miles to kilometers”).
From
You can convert miles to kilometers by multiplying by the factor For example, 150 miles equals km.

12. If you knew the length of the Merced River in miles, how could you convert this distance to explain how long it is to someone in our neighboring countries of Mexico and Canada?
Students should understand that Canada and Mexico both use the metric system, in which long distances are measured in kilometers, not miles. They should then use one of the online conversion calculators they have found (or use one of the formulas to solve by hand) in order to determine the length of the Merced River in kilometers. They should have gathered that the Merced River measures 145 miles and convert this to approximately 233 kilometers. (145 miles x ).