Students often struggle with understanding large numbers.
This activity helps students to think about what big numbers look like by deciding how big of a jar will be needed to hold 1 million punched holes from a paper punch. This is intended to be an extended investigation lasting up to two weeks, in which groups of students develop a plan to answer the question, carries out its work until it obtains a reasonable answer, then creates a poster to present their solution to their classmates. In addition to place value and number sense, students may also work with measurement, averages, and area in finding a solution. Having this background will be helpful in knowing what to expect, and it might also be a nice tool for professional development. Homesite Description - This SWR is contained in the following web site.