K–2: Math
GRADES K–2
Estimation Destination
Do you have a pile of cuisinaire rods and several vague math ideas? Are you looking for exciting estimation activities to engage your fledgling mathematicians? Consider yourself at home! On this Internet Field Trip, you'll encounter activities and lesson plans that will take the novice guesser and turn her, or him, into an expert estimator.
Several sites offer simple activity lesson plans that you can implement
with the help of classroom manipulatives. Try an Estimation
Contest in which students guess the total number of cereal bits in
different-sized containers. This activity provides exposure to the subtle
difference between a common guess and a learned estimate. Then turn up
the level of difficulty as students Cube-It. Budding mathematicians estimate
the dimensions of the largest cube that can be made from 50 or 100 smaller
cubes.
With estimation basics under their belts, encourage students to make the leap from manipulatives to online interactive activities with two variations on an estimation activity. Have students begin with the matching game, which is easier. Students match a number card with its closest rounded
up- or down-counterpart. Once they've mastered this estimating game they can move on to the Concentration version.
Next, lead young mathematicians to Guess the Number!, an estimation
activity that involves number ranges. Students suggest a secret number
to the computer by choosing the lowest and highest number in the range
of possibilities. Then the computer allows the user several guesses to
come up with the correct answer. Children use estimation skills as the
computer tells them to guess higher or lower.
At the last stop, the more advanced estimator can play several games, including, estimating the sum of two numbers and estimating the difference of two numbers. Both games generate arbitrary number pairs. Students add or
subtract the comibnation and match the answer with the nearest rounded tens number provided from a list. This activity ups the skill ante by introducing addition and subtraction.
Tour Itinerary
Estimation Contest
QUIA Estimation Activity All About Estimation
http://www.iit.edu/~smile/
ma9108.html
http://www.quia.com/jg/
65924.html
http://www.aaamath.com/
g27b-addestimate.html
