Discuss dinosaurs and other large mammals of the past and present with the class. Divide the students into groups and have them research how many meters long different dinosaurs were. After they find the dinosaurs' lengths, they will research large, more recent and modern-day mammals. Have the students create a length comparison chart to illustrate the differences in size between some of the largest dinosaurs and mammals throughout time.
Divide the students into groups and assign each group a particular structure to research. Examples include the height of the local town hall, the height of the White House or the length of a local footrace in the community. After they have the numbers, take them outside with rulers and meter sticks. Have the students use chalk to demonstrate how tall, wide or long the topic of their research assignment is.
An important component of this unit of study is gaining the ability to convert back and forth between kilometers and meters. Distribute work sheets with measurements in meters on one side and measures in kilometers on the other. Leave blanks on both sides and have the students fill them in. Go over the answers with the whole class so that the students can see how well they are doing with measurement conversion.
Let students see how measurements are used in everyday life. Assign each student or group of students a specific structure to build, such as a local bridge, a national tourist attraction or the track in the schoolyard. They can use whatever building materials they wish. Using the structure or area's measurements in meters or kilometers, the students must make the model to scale and include the scale in the finished project.