Estimation Exploration
0 min
Narrative
The purpose of an Estimation Exploration is for students to practice the skill of estimating a reasonable answer based on experience and known information. It gives students a low-stakes opportunity to share a mathematical claim and the thinking behind it (MP3).In the Activity Synthesis, it is important to discuss things the writer had to pay attention to when they designed this activity.
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What is an estimate that’s too high? Too low? About right?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Record responses.
Student Task
How many umbrellas?
Record an estimate that is:
| too low | about right | too high |
|---|---|---|
Sample Response
Sample responses:
- Too low: 50
- About right: 300–500
- Too high: 5,000 or more
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “What did the writer of this activity have to pay attention to when they designed this activity?” (They had to choose an image where it is hard to see or count the exact number of objects, and where something in the image shows how many things fit in one line or a small part of the image.)
- Record and display responses for all to see.
Standards
Addressing
- 5.NBT.5·Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
- 5.NBT.B.5·Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
20 min
15 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
No KCs tagged for this lesson
Estimation Exploration
0 min
Narrative
The purpose of an Estimation Exploration is for students to practice the skill of estimating a reasonable answer based on experience and known information. It gives students a low-stakes opportunity to share a mathematical claim and the thinking behind it (MP3).In the Activity Synthesis, it is important to discuss things the writer had to pay attention to when they designed this activity.
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What is an estimate that’s too high? Too low? About right?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Record responses.
Student Task
How many umbrellas?
Record an estimate that is:
| too low | about right | too high |
|---|---|---|
Sample Response
Sample responses:
- Too low: 50
- About right: 300–500
- Too high: 5,000 or more
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “What did the writer of this activity have to pay attention to when they designed this activity?” (They had to choose an image where it is hard to see or count the exact number of objects, and where something in the image shows how many things fit in one line or a small part of the image.)
- Record and display responses for all to see.
Standards
Addressing
- 5.NBT.5·Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
- 5.NBT.B.5·Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.