Ohio Virtual Tour: Amusement Park Arcade
The Excellent Estimator

Overview
The classroom turns into a measurement arcade with activities at different stations around the room. Students estimate the requested measurement and then actually measure it and record the results. A contest could be held to determine the best estimator.

Outcome
Students will practice estimation skills and calculate weight, distance, area, volume and time.

Standards Addressed — Mathematics

Grade 3
Use Measurement Techniques and Tools, Benchmark C
05. Estimate and measure length, weight and volume (capacity), using metric and U.S. customary units, accurate to the nearest or unit as appropriate.

Grade 4
Use Measurement Techniques and Tools, Benchmark B
05. Make simple unit conversions within a measurement system; e.g., inches to feet, kilograms to grams, quarts to gallons.

Grade 5
Use Measurement Techniques and Tools Benchmark B
05. Make conversions within the same measurement system while performing computations.

Grade 6
Use Measurement Techniques and Tools, Benchmark E
04. Determine which measure (perimeter, area, surface area, volume) matches the context for a problem situation.

Materials

• Sponge Squeeze: sponge, scale, bucket of water, deep dish to be used on the scale, paper towels to dry the dish

• Car Push: toy cars, tape measure or yard stick

• Shoe Size Challenge: centimeter graph paper

• Building Volume Contest: box, cube

• Time Trial: music audiotape, tape recorder, stopwatch or clock with second hand

• Game Instructions handout

• The Excellent Estimator student handout

Procedure

1. Cut apart the game instructions. Post one at each of five stations, as indicated in step four below.

2. Divide the students into pairs.

3. Give each student an Excellent Estimator student handout. Have them fill out the handout as they go along.

4. Go over each station with the students and give specific directions about each contest, as follows:

a. Sponge Squeeze: Students wring out a sponge that is sitting next to a pail of water. They then estimate and record how much they think the water that is captured by the sponge will weigh. They should dip the sponge in the pail and then wring it out into a dish and weigh it to get the actual weight of the water in grams.

b. Car Push: Students put a toy car on a table. They make an estimate of how far they can push the car. They then push the car and record how far it went in centimeters. This needs to be measured in a straight line from the starting point.

c. Shoe Size Challenge: Students are given a sheet of centimeter graph paper. They need to estimate the area of their shoe in square centimeters. Then they draw the bottom of their shoe on the graph paper and get a closer estimate of the actual area.

d. Building Volume Contest: Place a box and a cube on the table. Students need to estimate how many cubic inches or centimeters (depending on what type of cube you have to set next to the box) are in the box. Then will then measure the length, width and height of the box using the cube as a measuring tool and find the actual volume of the box.

e. Time Trial: Have a tape recorder handy with a piece of music that is approximately 30 seconds in length. Have the students listen to the music, estimate the amount of time that the music played and record their answers. Then they should listen a second time and measure the time using a stopwatch or the second hand on a clock. A 30-second clip of music is available on the Web site for Big or Small: Measure It All.

5. Once handouts have been filled in, students should find the differences between the estimates and the actual measurements.

6. A prize could be given in each category for the person who was the best estimator in that area. Discuss with the students if they would like to add all of the differences together.

Evaluation