In this section we start to see how the place value of a decimal and the use of units are commonly used with respect to metric units of measure. We always start with length because the concept of a meter is pretty concrete. I think it is important to have students visualize these lengths in the real world. I like to start with a meter stick (yes, a meter stick, not a yard stick) and can quick show them a meter (the whole thing) a centimeter (one graded marking) and even a millimeter (one-tenth of that centimeter). I usually go out in my hallway and roughly measure the length of the hallway. I do a quick calculation and take the students out there and explain how many lengths of the hallway they will need to walk to cover a kilometer.
These worksheets explain how to convert between different metric units for length and volume. Both questions and answers may contain decimals. Calculator use is suggested for some conversions.