Yesterday my mind (and heart) were on the gulf shore. In retrospect I realized that I could have shared more literature suggestions and teaching ideas about estimation, so we will revisit the topic today.
Stuart J. Murphy offers a nice overview of estimation with Betcha! Teachers can replicate activities such as estimating the number of jellybeans, or other objects, in a jar to give students the opportunity to hone their own estimation skills. Another Murphy title, Coyotes All Around, introduces the concept of rounding to estimate.
Teaching Tip
Discuss real life situations where estimation is appropriate compared to when an exact answer is necessary. The Counting is for the Birds problem, from the February 2010 issue of Teaching Children Mathematics presents an interesting estimation challenge and two estimation strategies.
Sample solutions were published in the February 2011 issue.
Showing posts with label estimation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label estimation. Show all posts
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
A Million Fish...More or Less
With my own family roots deep in the South Louisiana marshland, today I am compelled to mark the one-year anniversary of the Deep Water Horizon disaster and subsequent oil spill that continues to impact the Gulf of Mexico. Rather than bemoan the on-going devastation and unknown long-term impact, I want to pay tribute to the strength and bravery of the citizens. For generations the unique culture has taken hit after hit, but each time these resilient people pick themselves up, patch their lives back together then continue moving forward.
In A Million Fish…More or Less, Patricia C. McKissack aptly captures optimistic spirit found in those who live on the bayou. This yarn, set in the Louisiana swamp, takes exaggeration to a whole new level. McKissack ‘s fish tale can easily be incorporated into a lesson on place value, estimation, or even division of fractions. In my opinion, it provides a natural segue into a lesson on reasonable and unreasonable estimations.
Teaching Tip
I found two lesson plans for you. The first is from TI Education and the second is from Scholastic. Share your ideas for teaching with this book by adding your comments to this post.
In A Million Fish…More or Less, Patricia C. McKissack aptly captures optimistic spirit found in those who live on the bayou. This yarn, set in the Louisiana swamp, takes exaggeration to a whole new level. McKissack ‘s fish tale can easily be incorporated into a lesson on place value, estimation, or even division of fractions. In my opinion, it provides a natural segue into a lesson on reasonable and unreasonable estimations.
Teaching Tip
I found two lesson plans for you. The first is from TI Education and the second is from Scholastic. Share your ideas for teaching with this book by adding your comments to this post.
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