Monday, January 6, 2014

Pumpkin Estimation Stations - October 2013

What better way to celebrate the fall harvest than with PUMPKINS?! This is one of my favorite events that gets everyone feeling fall-like. With the help of some fabulous parent volunteers, these three stations went off without a hitch!

Students rotated through three different stations which challenged their mathematical brains to estimate, measure, and compare. The first station had students guess the weight of three different pumpkins, using grams for the smallest and pounds for the larger ones. With the help of a volunteer, students held each pumpkin and made an educated guess as to how much they thought it weighed. Then, they measured each one to find their actual weights. Students then then used the symbols >, <, and = to make a number sentence comparing their estimations to their actual weights.







In the second rotation, students had to guess how many pumpkin seeds they could grab with one hand. Similar to the first station, students would make their estimation, record, grab, count and compare. Fortunately, and very gratefully, the seeds had been de-gunked before hand by a very helpful parent!!























In the final rotation, students had to guess how big (in inches) the circumference of one very large pumpkin was. And yes, you guessed it. The order of operations was the same with one added detail. Students would guess the pumpkin's circumference by cutting a string to the length they thought would fit perfectly around. Once the string was cut, students would measure their string to the nearest inch and record. Once all estimations were recorded, they measured the actual circumference and then wrote number sentences comparing their estimations and actual numbers.



Many thanks to all the parents who donated their time, energy and supplies to make this event a "smashing" success!! Happy Halloween!!




















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