Everyday Mathematics
Conversion Calculator - This free conversion calculator converts between common units of length, temperature, area, volume, weight, and time.
This curriculum is a single, unified project that puts students in the role of contractors. It's designed to be completed over several days, with each phase corresponding to a specific WorkKeys skill.
The Contractor's Toolkit: The Complete Supply List
For all concepts: Whiteboard or chalkboard, markers or chalk, student worksheets (from your provided workbook), one dry-erase board with a marker per student or group, and a simple calculator.
For Money and Subtraction: A classroom set of play money (bills and coins).
For Fractions and Decimals: A classroom set of Rainbow Fraction®/Decimal Tiles (Hand2Mind or NASCO).
For Positive and Negative Numbers: A classroom set of Two-Color Counters (Didax is a well-known supplier).
For Measurement: A classroom set of simple, retractable tape measures with customary and metric markings, and a large piece of paper or cardboard for each student.
For Time: A single stopwatch or a phone with a stopwatch function.
Phase 1: Budget and Inventory Management
Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes
Concepts: Whole Numbers, Place Value, Money, Subtraction, and Negative Numbers.
Directions:
Introduce the Project: "You are a contractor. Your first job is to manage the budget and inventory for a small construction project."
Initial Budget: "Each contracting team starts with an initial budget of $140. Count your play money to confirm you have this amount, then write the total on your dry-erase board."
Purchase Materials: "Your first task is to buy materials. The cost of materials is $75. Count out $75 from your budget and give it to me. On your dry-erase board, write the subtraction problem to show your new balance ($140 - $75)."
Practice Problems (using toy money):
Problem 1: "A subcontractor bill for $55 is due. Pay it now and record your new balance."
Problem 2: "You buy a piece of equipment for $20. How much do you have left?"
Encounter an Unexpected Fee: "An unexpected delivery fee of $80 is due. You do not have enough cash. Use your Two-Color Counters to model the problem. The yellow counters represent a positive balance, and the red counters represent a negative balance. Your current balance is $65. Take out 65 yellow counters. Now, the fee is $80. Take out 80 red counters. Pair them up until you have no more pairs. What is your final balance?" (The answer is a deficit of -$15.)
The "How-To"
a. Tell students: "To find out what happens when we spend more than we have, we'll use these counters. Yellow is money we have (a positive number). Red is money we owe (a negative number)."
b. Have students lay out 65 yellow counters to represent their current balance of $65.
c. Have them lay out 80 red counters to represent the $80 fee.
d. Tell them: "Now, pair up one yellow counter with one red counter. A yellow and a red together cancel each other out, because a positive dollar and a negative dollar equal zero."
e. After they have paired up as many as they can, they will be left with 15 red counters.
f. Tell them: "Since we have 15 red counters left over, our final balance is negative $15. This is called a deficit."
Practice Problems (using Two-Color Counters):
Problem 1: "A truck driver's expenses for a trip were $125 in fuel, $40 in tolls, and $55 for a hotel. If their company gives them $200 for expenses, did they spend more or less than they were given? How much?"
Phase 2: Cutting and Assembling Materials
Estimated Time: 35-45 minutes
Concepts: Fractions, Decimals, Improper Fractions, Mixed Numbers, and Unit Conversions.
Directions:
Introduce the Task: "You now need to cut and prepare the materials for your project. The blueprint gives all measurements as fractions. Your job is to convert them to decimals and then combine them to find the total length."
Problem 1 (Guided Practice): Combining Fractions & Decimals
Step A: "Your first task is to combine two pieces of material. The first piece is 3/4 inches long, and the second is 1/2 inches long. Use your Rainbow Fraction®/Decimal Tiles to find the total length. Place the 3/4 tile and the 1/2 tile together."
The "How-To":
a. Have students take a single 1/2 tile and a 3/4 tile and lay them side-by-side.
b. Tell them: "Now, find a combination of other tiles that exactly matches the total length of the two tiles you just laid out. You will find that a 1 whole tile and a 1/4 tile fit perfectly."
c. This shows them that 3/4 + 1/2 = 1 1/4.
Step B: "Now, use other tiles to find the equivalent length. You should find that the total length is 1 whole tile and 1/4 of another, which is a mixed number (1 1/4)."
Step C: "Flip the tiles over to their decimal side. Write the new problem on your dry-erase board (0.75 + 0.5). Your answer should be 1.25 inches, which is the same as 1 1/4 inches."
Problem 2 (Independent Practice): More Practice with Conversions
Step A: "Now, try a new problem: your blueprint calls for pieces that are 1/8 inch, 5/8 inch, and 1/4 inch. Use your tiles to combine these. What is the total length in a mixed number? What is the total length as a decimal?" (The answers are 1 inch and 1.0 inch).
Problem 3 (Independent Practice): Finding a Missing Piece
Step A: "Your next task is to find the size of a missing piece. The total length of a completed part is 3 1/2 inches. You have one piece that is 1 3/4 inches and another that is 1 1/8 inches. Use your tiles to find the length of the missing third piece. What is the missing length as a mixed number and as a decimal?" (The answers are 5/8 inch and 0.625 inch).
Problem 4 (Independent Practice): Combining Measurements & Converting
Step A: "Your last task is to combine three pieces: 1/2 inch, 7/8 inch, and 1 1/4 inch. Find the total length as a mixed number and a decimal. Then, use the conversion factor of 2.54 cm per inch to find the total length in centimeters." (The total is 2 5/8 inches or 2.625 inches, which converts to 6.67 cm).
Hands-On Application:
The "How-To":
a. Tell students: "We are going to make a physical model of the final piece from our first problem. The total length we calculated was 1 1/4 inches."
b. Have a student use a tape measure to accurately measure and mark a line that is 1 1/4 inches long on a piece of cardboard or paper.
c. Have them use the same tape measure to read the length of that line in centimeters. Tell them: "This is what you would do in a real-world job where you have to convert between imperial and metric systems. The measurement in centimeters should be approximately 3.18 cm."
Practice Problems:
Problem 1: "A worker needs to drill a hole 1/2 inch from the edge of a board. How many centimeters from the edge is that?"
Problem 2: "A piece of wood is 20 inches long. How many centimeters is that?"
Phase 3: The Final Paycheck & Timeline ⏱️
Estimated Time: 25-30 minutes
Concepts: Time (elapsed time, conversions) and Multi-Step Problems.
Directions:
Timed Task: "Your final job is to perform a simple, repetitive task to earn your paycheck. Each team will time how long it takes to assemble one product. Use the stopwatch and be as accurate as possible."
The Class Average: "After everyone has a time, we will write them all on the board and find the class average. This single average time becomes the standardized data set for everyone. Now, every student solves the final multi-step problem using the same numbers: 'Based on the class average assembly time, how much would you earn for assembling 100 of these products if your hourly rate is $15 per hour?'" (This problem requires students to multiply the average time by 100, convert that time to hours, and then multiply by the hourly rate.)
The "How-To":
a. Tell students: "To find the average time, we first need to add up the times from every group in the class. Then, we divide that total time by the number of groups."
b. Tell students: "Now that we have our average time, we can use it to solve our paycheck problem. Let's say the average time was 15 seconds per product."
c. Tell them: "First, we need to find the total time it would take to make 100 products. We multiply: 15 seconds x 100 products = 1500 seconds."
d. "Now we need to convert that into hours, because our paycheck is based on an hourly rate. We know there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour, so there are 3600 seconds in an hour. We divide: 1500 seconds / 3600 seconds per hour = 0.417 hours."
e. "Finally, we find the total pay: 0.417 hours x $15 per hour = $6.25."
Practice Problems (from workbook):
Problem 1: "If a shift starts at 9:15 AM and ends at 5:45 PM, how many hours did the worker work?"
Problem 2: "A plumber charges $75 for the first hour and $50 for every additional hour. If they work for 3 and a half hours, how much will they charge?"