Having already studied the concept of an hour, first-graders investigate time as a measure of duration. They list activities, such as writing their name, that could be accomplished within a minute, then estimate how many times in one minute they could do it. To answer the question, they must understand distance, volume, capacity, and time. Students measure different items with a meter divided into 10 parts then learn to write their measurements using decimal notation. Pencil Box Staining Fourth-graders are faced with the task of finding out how much stain to buy from the hardware store and encounter problems as they work with many mathematical ideas in the context of a real application.
Students work in groups with pencil box pieces, a ruler, calculator, and instruction sheet.
Ladybugs First-graders choose ladybugs as a topic for learning. Based on their observations, students make bar graphs and a class chart to record the number of heads, wings, feet and antennas ladybugs have. They make connections among real objects, diagrams, and numerals. Using colored cubes to represent elements in the environment, students simulate factors that might harm or help the birds. Bubble Gum Contest Third-graders stage a bubble gum blowing contest using sampling to determine the ratio of winners to entrants.