Teaching Measurment Bushel to Gallons

I was teaching about corn I was bringing in video from a farmer that was explaining the amount of corn a combine can process he was using Bushels as the measurement. The suburban kids I work with don't really understand the unit of Bushels so I wanted to find a fun way to bring it down to a measurement that they can understand. So I devised a team puzzle or possible team game to help them understand the size of a Bushel and bring it down into Gallons.

Learning Objective:
This will help develop critical thinking skills, give them a visual for those skills and give them a visual they will understand to show what a Bushel equals. it is a way to teach unit of measurements.

Items needed for puzzle.
(All sizes in US measurements)

masking tape
1 peck box (Typically cardboard) I get them from farm stands check if you go to a grocery store most produce is delivered in boxes bigger than 1 peck.
8 one gallon containers (aim for dry gallon containers I'll explain later)
A variety of other measurements I recommend plastic containers as many as you want. (2 liter bottles other smaller bottles, plastic jars.)
for a game multiply the number of items by the number of teams you will have.
you can write the unit of measurement sizes on the containers if you wish.

make a box with the masking tape on the floor at least large enough to hold the 8 gallon containers it may be larger.

place out the containers for the group. explain that they are to use the plastic containers to make a Bushel. The card board box is 1 Peck. Explain that 4 pecks equal one Bushel. They are to put the plastic containers in the box on the floor but the Peck box cannot be used inside the box. They are looking to put in the box on the floor made of masking tape one Bushels worth of plastic containers.

let them go!

The way to figure it out the best is to fit the plastic bottles in the peck box you can tell them they can use the peck box but they can't use it in the box on the floor; if you think it will help them figure out the use of the peck box.

they should end with 8 one gallon containers in the box for the correct answer.

Let me explain the answer.

1 Bushel = 4 pecks
1 Peck = 2 gallons (dry)

1 Bushel = 8 gallons (dry)

Try not to use milk or water gallons if possible the unit for a liquid gallon is different than a dry gallon.

1 Peck = 2.327 gallons (liquid)

If you can only find liquid gallons that's OK there is a small difference that shouldn't throw them off track too much. One way to find dry gallons is if you have a cat is in kitty litter containers. you should be able to find a 1 gallon size and it is a dry gallon.

Pecks and Bushels are measured in weight as well. search the internet if you have a box with a weight on it for the type of produce it is to see the Peck weight if it doesn't say one peck on the box.
such as a peck of tomatoes should be 12 to 15 pounds.
A peck of cucumbers should be 12-13 pounds.