Subjects

• Mathematics
  --Applied Math
  --Arithmetic
  --Statistics

Grade

• K-2
• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Brief Description

Fun activity reinforces concepts of estimation, number lines, mean, median, and mode.

Objectives

Students

• develop estimation skills.
• use data to build a number line.
• calculate the mean, median, and mode of a series of numbers.

Keywords

estimate, estimating, mean, median, mode, average, number line

Materials Needed

• sheets of scrap paper (blank on one side)
• markers or crayons

Lesson Plan

This is a fun activity that reinforces many math skills. You could do this activity once a week to reinforce skills related to estimating, creating a number line, and/or calculating the mean, median, and mode of a series of numbers.

Introduce an "estimate-the-number of" jar. Any jar or glass container will work well. Fill the jar with peanuts (in the shell), M&Ms, crayons, gummy candies, small toys, crayons, or any other convenient item or product. You might give students a day or a week to guess-timate the number of items in the jar.

Provide each student with a sheet of paper. (This activity is a good one for making use of scrap paper -- leftover sheets of paper that are printed on only one side. If the paper is 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size, cut it in half.) Each student uses a crayon or marker to write his or her estimate on the paper. Encourage students to write their estimates on the paper in large and bold print.

When all students have written their estimates of the number of items in the jar, have them line up side-by-side around the room, in the hallway, or outdoors. Have them hold up their boldly written estimates so their classmates can see them. Have students arrange themselves into a "human number line" from the lowest estimate to the highest one. (You might challenge them to do without saying a word to each other.)

Next, at some grade levels, you might reinforce math skills by having students identify and record