Sharing the experiences of lifelong learners…
The students were shown the following picture. Through this task students use estimate to check the reasonableness of answers.
They had to estimate how many cubes they would need to go right around the edge of the paper. Their estimates ranged from 9-20.
We then used cubes to cover more of the edge. Almost all the students changed their original guess.
We then checked how many we needed to cover the edge. We needed 32!
Students watched the video ‘The Candyman’ and discussed what they noticed in the video.
They wondered if the Candyman would eat all the candies and how many he had in his hand. They first made an estimate and were then given a clue. They drew pictures to show their thinking.
It is vital that students learn how to make a sensible ‘guess‘ or an ‘estimation‘, as it is something we all do at any time of the day. Imagine if you can easily estimate how much something would cost or how big something is.
The students first ‘estimated’ how many dominoes they thought were in the bag. They recorded this information. Then they counted to check.
