As part of geography, students need to understand that miles are the markings used by the United States to measure distances between various locations. Students can learn about miles in a geography lesson which teaches distances between various locations. For example, finding the distance between major cities like New York and Chicago. The students can look at a map or use online resources to find the distance and then estimate how long it would take to travel the distance.
Miles are often used in math word problems and students need to understand these problems to succeed in math. Problems might compare miles per hour of various vehicles, distances between locations and determining the time it takes to travel at various speeds from one location to another. The teacher should show how to find out the information, such as dividing the miles per hour by the number of miles, and then allow the students to practice.
Students in the third grade learn about various measurements, including feet, miles and inches. Teachers can use a lesson to illustrate a mile to students by teaching about foot-to-mile conversions. There are 5,280 feet in one mile. Teachers can explain this and hold up a ruler to illustrate. The teacher can then have students measure the classroom in feet and determine how many times students would need to walk around the room to make one mile of walking. The teacher can then have students work on conversions between feet and miles by using worksheets.
The solar system and space are always interesting topics of school lessons. Teachers can tie the solar system into lessons about miles by giving information about how far each planet is from Earth in miles. For example, teachers might incorporate mile lessons into a lesson about the moon, stating that the moon is around 238,900 miles from the earth on average. Teachers can explain about variations in the distance between the earth and the moon and why the distance varies as the moon orbits the earth.