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Estimating Big Numbers: Do You Really Understand

Them?
by Lynnette Shouse

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Introduction
Rationale
Content Objectives
Unit content
Text Selection
Teaching Strategies
Classroom activities
Appendix
Notes
Annotated bibliography

Introduction
Numbers are all around us every day.  They are a crucial part of our everyday life.  Mathematics is
now so critical to understanding modern society that some have labeled it the “new civil right.”(1)
We use numbers without really thinking about them. This unit will focus on developing deeper
number sense, interpreting place value and order of magnitude, and how all of these support
making reasonable estimations.

Here are some questions I thought about as I prepared my unit.  Can students really understand
the differences between really big numbers, and between really small numbers? How deep is the
knowledge required of our students in determining relative size of numbers based upon the
position of the digits? Do students grasp the concept that our place value system is based upon
the number 10?  Do they know what a thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, or even a
million items would really look like? As John Allen Paulos said in his book Innumeracy, “Knowing
that it takes only about eleven and a half days for a million seconds to tick away, whereas almost
thirty-two years are required for a billion seconds to pass gives one a better grasp of the relative
magnitude of these two common numbers.”(2)

This unit will focus on clarification of place value and order of magnitude, and likewise improving
student’s estimation skills. By reviewing what estimation is and how we can create a reasonable
guess, my hope is that students become more comfortable working with and manipulating larger
numbers such as ten thousand, hundred thousand and continuing into the billions. In keeping with
our theme I will use three key texts: Great Estimations and Greater Estimations by Bruce
Goldstone and Millions, Billions, and Trillions, Understanding Big Numbers by David Adler.  I will
also be using a video to introduce and help to visualize the idea of order of magnitude, called The
Powers of 10.

Rationale
Grissom Elementary is a high-performing school with diverse ethnicities represented. It has
students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.  Approximately half of the student body is made
up of Hispanic and African-American students.  The other half is a combination of Caucasian,
Asian, and Native Americans. Many students attend Grissom based upon school choice, where
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parents apply to attend this site within the larger Tulsa Public Schools system. The school was
founded in 1969 and is named after astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom. His name implies exploration
and service which is a major focus of student life. The school is a demonstration school for the
Oklahoma A+ Initiative, which integrates the arts into all areas of the curriculum.

My students have been identified as gifted based upon their classroom performance and/or criteria
established by the district to signify advanced potential.  My fourth grade students have been with
me as their gifted teacher for the past four to five years.  My students come from diverse ethnic
backgrounds and have academic abilities that are advanced when compared to other students in
their age/grade levels. Sometimes they seem trapped by their giftedness, and they feel that they
have to know the right answers at the beginning of a study. They can be afraid of being wrong and
of letting their peers see that they do not always know the correct answer. They are not
comfortable challenging their own thinking on a topic.  Most are used to being “smart,” which in
their minds translates to:  if I don’t know the answer then it is not worth studying. They can
sometimes have the fixed mindset that I’m smart and I want to make sure that I get the right
answer. If they are questioned about their thinking, many times, they cannot explain how they
arrived at their conclusion.  They say, “I don’t know how I know, I just know.” I will use this
response as a pretext for a class discussion about how to solve a problem.

I want to use a visual concept of the skill, starting with a hands-on demonstration, then match that
to a pictorial representation, and only later proceed to the algorithm. I hope this will assist them in
breaking out of that fixed mindset and move towards a more growth mindset approach that says,
“The more that you challenge your mind to learn, the more that your brain cells grow.”(3)

I want my students to use their reasoning and thinking abilities to work through problems and
discuss with others how they are solving the problems, and work in small groups of peers. Not
only is the review of these skills necessary to go deeper, it will allow me as the instructor to use
relevant problems that will allow my students to apply problem-solving skills.  I also want them to
feel comfortable not knowing the answer immediately and be willing to talk about their
misunderstandings in small group discussions. I want the students to … “learn to reason and to
justify their solutions to learn that mathematics is about making sense.”(4)

Content Objectives
This unit will take approximately three weeks to teach. I will present it during the first quarter, and it
will share time with other classwork. The first week will focus on the concept of place value and
how the base ten system is an efficient way to represent whole numbers. As a pre-assessment
activity, I will give students a target number, 467, and having them think of all the ways they can
represent that number. They may create math equations using various operations or properties
(e.g. 467 x 1), they may decompose the number into smaller addends (400 + 60 + 7), or possibly
even create a graph to show their understanding of that target number. Additional work will center
on the Oklahoma fourth grade standard (4.N.2.7), “Comparing and ordering whole numbers using
place value, a number line, and models such as grids or base 10 blocks.”  I do not anticipate much
misconception during this initial week as it should be review of third grade topics. Confusion may
arise if I use a larger number moving into the thousands and ask them to repeat the task. This will
not be a review of previous work. I will stretch their thinking by helping them grasp the concept
that the largest place where the numbers differ, determines which is greater. I will ask them to
compare numbers with 4, 5, and 6 digits.

The second week will be focused on the texts, Great Estimations and Greater Estimations, as
students move towards using very large whole numbers and plotting these big numbers on a
number line. An anchor activity will be to have jelly beans in cups of various sizes (1/4 cup, ½ cup,
1 cup, and 2 ½ cups), have students estimate the number of jelly beans in each cup starting with
the smallest cup first.  Then use their knowledge of the base ten system to estimate how many
jelly beans will be in a cup that is twice as big, four times as big, or ten times as big.  Students will
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count the actual number of jelly beans in each cup. I will use class discussion to compare and
contrast estimations and actual counts. Similar scenarios will be used in classroom
demonstrations and the estimates will assuredly become more precise and accurate. Activities like
this will address Oklahoma math standards in both fourth (4.N.1.5.) and fifth grade (5.N.1.4.),
“Solving multi-step real-world problems requiring the use of different operations with whole
numbers.”  Students will be writing and illustrating in their math notebook daily to cement their
thinking and reasoning about the relationships between our number system and effective
estimations.  The writing in their notebooks may be numerical, pictorial or narrative forms of their
learning. The use of writing or drawing is encouraging students to see the mathematical ideas. As
Jo Boaler states in What’s Math Got to Do With It, “Mathematicians draw all the time.”(5)  My use
of the notebooks will address the fourth and fifth grades standard for language arts of listening to
others’ ideas and asking and answering questions to clarify meaning.  By writing it down,
sketching it out, or creating a similar math problem, they are participating in the productive
struggle of mathematics.

The third week will focus on the connection between estimating and determining placement of
large multi-digit numbers accurately on a linear number line.  The primary focus text will be
Millions, Billions and Trillions, Understanding Big Numbers by David Adler. A number line around
the school that will depict the orders of magnitude by showing the relative space between
numbers will be their culminating project. This number line will begin at my classroom door and the
initial tick marks will be determined by using a paper image of base ten blocks cut apart and
placed end to end, thus establishing the mark for ten and the mark for one hundred. Students will
use these markings to then estimate where numbers such as one thousand, ten thousand, and
possibly one hundred thousand will be located on the number line. As we continue through the
unit, students will be adding to the length of the number line by establishing the possible position
of one million and one billion. Students will also be placing individually researched quantities, such
as the lifetime earnings of differing vocations or how many seconds old they are, correctly on this
number line to show their use of integers in real-world situations. Additional number lines will be
added to our classroom where one represents one million and the other will represent one billion.
Start by subdividing into ten equal subintervals, and discussing what the tick marks would
represent. Then subdivide one of the subintervals into 10 equal smaller intervals, and discuss
what the tick marks there would represent. I will propose some meaningful (populations,
expenditures) multi-digit numbers that will fit in the interval you have just discussed, and ask my
students to locate it. Hopefully, they will see that after the 3rd digit, or maybe the 4th, the intervals
have gotten too short for them to distinguish further digits. These additional number line
representations will allow students to see that the first few digits determine almost all of the
location no matter the length of the number line. These activities will reflect the Oklahoma
standards from fourth (4.N.2.7) and sixth grade (6.N.1.1) that require them to use a number line to
represent integers and recognize the concept of magnitude.  The order of magnitude will definitely
be a new way to discuss numbers.  I anticipate some misunderstandings around this topic and so
the classroom activities will address the possible misconceptions.  Students have not had previous
exposure to order of magnitude and thus will have a gap in their grasp of the scale of numbers.

Even though fourth graders should have already mastered place value and how to estimate for
small numbers, this unit will focus on creating a deeper conceptual knowledge of both skills.  Also
a significant emphasis will be placed upon the concept of the order of magnitude.  To that end the
video The Powers of 10 will expose them to much larger numbers than they have been used to,
and will be the initial introduction to using exponents for the base ten units, which will appear
again when we are writing larger numbers in expanded form. Class discussion will center on then
using information from the video to write large numbers using scientific notation. (E.g. 1,000 can
be written as 1 x 10³.)  A strong robust foundation in number sense will be required for them to
continue to learn mathematics at a more conceptual level.  This unit is designed to have students
take a deep “dive” into using the above mentioned skills and fully develop their number sense and
ability to work with numbers in a strategic and flexible manner as well as to make a direct
connection to their daily lives.  

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Unit content
Number sense
“Number sense is the foundational building block for all strands of mathematics.”(6) Number sense
is not just one thing, and a sense of very large numbers is a kind of number sense that is not
much cultivated. Students who struggle to solve problems, find relationships or patterns, or even
grapple with data usually lack number sense. This term can mean many things but the
demonstrations of number sense include:  a student can visualize what a number is, can compare
quantities and determine what a large amount is and what it is not, and can use numbers flexibly
to perform operations strategically. Students need to work with numbers in a multitude of ways to
grasp how our number system works. Readily recognizing how to group or cluster items is but one
component of a robust number sense. This understanding leads to using the number system in a
systematic fashion.

Base ten system

Our number system (base ten system) is a positional system.  Given that a digit can represent
different values based upon its position is an elegant and organized way to keep track of amounts.
This system also shows students that each digit in a number expresses a power of ten. A digit
stands for a number ten times as large as it would, if it were one place to the right, and only one
tenth as large as it would, if it were one place to the left. This process does not end no matter how
far away from the decimal point you move in either direction. Relative place value can also be
applied to pairs of places that are not next to each other. For example, digits separated by two
spaces represent quantities that differ by a factor of one hundred.  For example, in the number 37,
364 each digit increases by a factor of ten as you move to the left. In the example 4 represents 4 x
1; and 6 represents 6 x 10; and the first 3 represents 3 x 100 and the 7 represents 7 x 1,000 and
the second 3 represents 3 x 10,000.  Examples of the five stages of place value follow:

37,364 = 30,000 + 7,000 + 300 + 60 + 4

= 3 x 10,000 + 7 x 1,000 + 3 x 100 + 6 x 10 + 4 x 1

= 3 x (10 x 10 x 10 x 10) + 7 x (10 x 10 x 10) + 3 x (10 x 10) + 6 x 10 + 4 x 1

= 3 x 10 + 7 x 10³ + 1 x 10² + 3 x 10¹ + 4 x 1º

The second equation is called expanded form. Students are familiar with this type of notation. It
shows that a base ten number is to be understood as a sum of pieces.  We call them “place value
pieces.”  The second equation shows the multiplicative nature of the place value pieces by
showing that each place value is a digit times a base ten unit (i.e., 1, 10, 100, 1000, etc.). The third
equation show the multiplicative structure of the base ten units:  how 1000 is ten times ten times
ten, 100 is ten times ten, or a power of ten. The third equation is the one that is missing from our
elementary curriculum and it demonstrates the use of exponents and powers to denote magnitude
of the number.  This last expression can also be termed the polynomial form. This information and
understanding is key to being successful in later algebraic problems and scientific notation. The
last expression will also be connected to the Powers of 10 video. When students understand this
conceptual structure of our base ten system, they can then use strategies to assist them in
breaking apart (decomposing) or putting together (composing) numbers effectively.  They are
building their number sense.

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Order of magnitude
The orders of magnitude of numbers are used to make approximate comparison. Order of
magnitude can be defined in a whole number as one less than the number of digits required to
write it. Thus, the order of magnitude of 146 is two. The mathematical concept relates to place
value and the relative size of a number. It is specifically important when working with very large
numbers that require the use of many places in the place value system.  The importance of this
concept provides a sense of scale.  Students will be exposed to the sense of relative size within
our universe through the video Powers of Ten. Students are not familiar with the language and
terminology used in orders of magnitude in elementary school.  However, this gap in their
understanding leads to many misconceptions when they approach middle and high school
mathematics.  The lack of targeted instruction in this area will be addressed in this unit.

Estimation
In our seminar we worked with the idea that if you can determine the order of magnitude of a
number, you know something important about it. This statement connects the place value
connection to making good estimations.  Estimating is more than making a guess, it is using
strategies to come up with a reasonable number. In other words, an estimate should be close to
the actual number. As Lawrence Weinstein and John A. Adams stated in their book,
Guesstimation, “Once you have estimated the answer to a problem, the answer will fall into one of
the three “Goldilocks” categories:  1.Too big; 2. Too small; 3. Just right.”(7) Students need to learn
that estimating is a skill that can improve with additional practice.  They should learn to use
techniques that will assist them in being close to the real number.  To start with, “close to the
actual number” would mean that they are close to the correct order of magnitude. In some cases,
they may also determine the first digit. Students should estimate the area of a twenty foot by
twenty foot room to be under a thousand square feet, not several thousands.  That answer is in
the correct order of magnitude. Three strategies, described in the Goldstone books, to make better
estimates, which will be described in more detail, are eye training, clump counting and box and
count.  Each of these strategies provide students with concrete ways to improve their estimating
skills and will be utilized in the course of this unit.

In addition to using mathematical vocabulary and processes, students will be using writing
strategies to “concretize their thinking.”(8) Students will use note-booking to keep track of their
thinking, wonderings, and realizations as we maneuver through this unit.  It will allow them to keep
a record of their classroom activities, pictorial representations, and strategies used for future
reference. The notebooks will also allow me as the instructor to assess in their responses their
thinking patterns or misconceptions.  It will allow us, as a learning cadre, to create math problems
and to creatively solve those using strategies that will be discussed within their small groups and
by the whole class. As Joan Countryman states, “Writing strengthens a student’s experience with
a new concept. They fix on the page connections and relationships between what they already
know and what they are meeting for the first time.”(9) Using note-booking as a way to capture
thinking will also allow these students to see the connections between language arts structures
and math learning.

Text Selection
Even though we will be working on math concepts, I have selected three main texts to use during
this unit. These texts are similar to each other in structure, and the mathematical theories in each
are pedagogically sound.  The bold graphics and illustrations will appeal to the visual learners and
each text has opportunities for students to engage with it interactively.

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The first text is Great Estimations by Bruce Goldstone.  The text introduces estimating in a fun way
with colorful found objects illustrations. Students usually follow the “Goldilocks pattern” when
estimating:  either too small, too large or just right.  However, they struggle when trying to
determine if their estimation is reasonable.  This picture could be used to introduce how to cluster
items to estimate the total number of bears in this picture.  If you cluster all the orange bears
together they represent ten bears.  Students can then use this number to estimate the total
number of bears, regardless of color, in the figure 1.

Figure 1

The text starts out using groupings of items arranged in a myriad of ways to work on the technique
known as eye training.  This technique trains your eye to look for groupings of smaller numbers
and then adding those small groupings together to arrive at a reasonable estimate. Another
technique used to facilitate estimating reasonably is termed clump counting. It requires students to
count a specific number of items in the picture, like 10, and then notice the amount of space
required for that clump.  Then use that clump to estimate the total number by multiplying by ten or
by one hundred to arrive at an estimate. This strategy reinforces the powers of ten to support a
student in estimating appropriately. Clump counting allows students to choose numbers that are
easy to work with to find a close estimate. The final strategy introduced is box and count.  If the
picture has lots of things spread out then students can draw, or imagine, boxes overlaid on the
image to divide it into manageable pieces.  Once the boxes are in place, each individual box is
given an estimated number and then the total number is estimated by multiplying the small
estimate by the number of boxes overlaid on the picture. My example is if I draw 100 boxes on a
graphic, then estimate the number of items in one box, I then multiply the single box estimate by
one hundred to arrive at an estimate for the total number of things pictured. (Or written
mathematically:  total = 100 ´ X, where X is the estimate from one box).

The second book I will be using is Greater Estimations by Bruce Goldstone. Greater Estimations
uses the same three techniques previously described, but it also moves into estimating volumes
and measurements.  The most significant differences in the two texts are the variance in
numbers.  The first text uses numbers reaching into the hundreds of thousands.  This text focuses
on really big numbers, millions and billions.  An example of a picture representing possible blades
of grass which may be estimated in the billions is Figure 2.

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Figure 2

Students would need to isolate a small portion of the picture using the box and count method,
estimate the number of blades in that portion and then use information about the size of the
picture to estimate a total number of blades of grass.  This requires working with very large
numbers and the use of area to calculate the approximate number of blades of grass. Both texts
reinforce the five stages of place value by encouraging students to also use exponents when
working with really big numbers. The author’s letter at the end of this text highlights an important
point for students--that estimating is an everyday activity.  Estimating has implications vocationally,
politically and socially. It affects how parents prepare meals, how planners set up public events,
and how governments allocate funds.  This direct connection will enable students to see the
correlation between math and real world application.

The last text will be Millions, Billions, and Trillions, Understanding Big Numbers by David Adler.
The illustrations make these numbers accessible for students.  The problems presented show how
these large numbers are used in our everyday life. An example of how a picture could be used to
assist students in developing their understanding of these very large numbers is provided beneath
figure 3.

Figure 3

This picture is a herd of sheep. Students can use their estimating skills to find out how many are in
this picture; however, if the question then becomes how many sheep are located in the United
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States, then students must do some further calculations.  This would require some research and
then a knowledge of using multiplication using the orders of magnitude to provide an
approximation of the total number of sheep in the United States. An extension of this problem
would be to calculate how many sheep would be in a square mile or how many per acre?  This
example would provide a chance to discuss how many significant digits should we keep in a large
number?  Do we need to keep all of them or would rounding to the two or three significant digits
be a reasonable estimation? This discussion will also be informed by the previous number line
activities.

The text is presented in a logical sequence to assist students in arriving at the understanding that
each of these numbers is based on the powers of ten concept. The examples of where these large
numbers are useful also provide chances for students to delve deeper into realization of how
immense these numbers are. A misconception I believe students will have is how these very large
numbers make a direct connection to their daily life. So we would proceed to work in small groups
to answer the following questions:  How many minutes old are you?  How many million seconds
old are you? How many billion?  How many billion seconds old are your parents?  I believe their
first estimates would be significantly too small.  This would then lead to that “productive struggle”
when students would need to reason through the steps to arrive at a reasonable approximation of
their ages in minutes and seconds. Students will also talk about how many people are in the
school, and in Tulsa, and in Oklahoma, and in the US, and compare these numbers, and perhaps
also compare US or Oklahoma population to the whole world.

Teaching Strategies
Pre-launch
Before a new unit takes place, I like to use a strategy that is, in essence, a pre-assessment.  I call
it pre-launch with my students.  (My school mascot is the Grissom Stars and we are named after
Virgil “Gus” Grissom—consequently the space vernacular.) Students are presented with an initial
set of tasks to determine their background knowledge and use of strategies.  I have them cut out
and paste the tasks presented in their notebook and then they proceed to work out the problem(s)
individually using whatever strategy they think is appropriate to arrive at an answer.  This pre-
launch allows me to set the stage for our upcoming learning and to also assess their familiarity
with or misconceptions about our study.  Many times gifted students have mastered some content
that is above their age/grade level peers, but they may have some misconceptions that need to be
addressed, or a student may need more depth of exposure than provided by my original plan. This
first day procedure gives me a chance to ensure that my unit is targeted to meet their academic
needs and provides the structure for us as a learning cadre to pique interest in the topic.  Students
will also re-visit these same tasks later in the unit to use new-found strategies in solving the
problems. A pre-launch is like the pre-launch in the space program, it assesses our course and
ensures that the entire group of learners is on board ready to launch the unit.

Demonstrations
Many times demonstrations are relegated to science classrooms, but math lends itself to using
hands-on manipulatives as well.  During the course of this unit, both students and I will be
engaging in using supplies from the kitchen to work on our estimation skills.  I will start each
segment, anchored to a picture book, with a demonstration using household food.  These
demonstrations will also help make the direct connection between these very large numbers and
everyday life.  It will also help them internalize that estimations need to be close to a real number
and that choosing a range of appropriate answers is also necessary. (E.g. should this be to the

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nearest one hundred or the nearest one thousand?) I will discuss with students the number of
significant digits required in their estimations and what order of magnitude is their estimate. The
overall message should be that the order of magnitude is good, the first digit is great, and two
correct leading digits is terrific (and perhaps lucky). This can be reinforced by the work with
locating numbers on number lines, and probably also with the work with measuring cups.

Small and whole group discussions

Whoever is doing the most talking is doing the most learning. Discussions amongst students is a
strong indicator of their level of understanding. When students are sharing with their peers or
discussing in whole group how they arrived at an answer, all of the learners in the room, including
the teacher, benefit from hearing. As Jo Boaler says, “Children should also be encouraged to ask
questions of themselves and others.”(10) Students’ talks must be centered on explaining how they
arrived at their answer.  Small group and subsequently whole group discussions will allow all
learners to “see” mathematical methods used and hear the reason backing up their use. This will
give me an opportunity to hear how students are engaging with the content, see their strategy
usage, untangle their misconceptions, or probe to go deeper into making connections to other
concepts.  Some specific prompts that I may use are:

How did you think about the problem?

Why did you do it that way?
Can you think of another way to do the problem?
How do the two ways relate?
What could you change about the problem to make it simpler or easier?

Having students talk throughout the course of the unit will deepen their knowledge and strengthen
their number sense.  This will contribute to their abilities moving into other areas of math
instruction.

Note-booking
The format that I will use will be an interactive format.  Students will use their notebook each day
to keep track of our pre-launch activities, work on demonstrations, as well as the problem-solving
component of this unit.  Students will be encouraged to represent all of these activities in ways
that make sense to them.  They can use drawings, problems, words, or any combination of the
above items. This allows them to refer back to their own notes throughout the unit. It can also help
them discover patterns in our activities and connections between the larger themes. The
interactive portion will be where students will save space at the bottom of each page for me
(approximately one pinky length measuring up from bottom of the page) to jot down questions,
ideas or notes to them on a weekly basis.  I pick up the notebooks a few times per week to look
through their notations.  I use this discovery time to assist me in planning for our next steps, and to
ensure that I am not leaving any students behind in their understandings.  Note-booking is also a
simple way to share with parents the path of learning that their child is on at the present time.  It is
a built in record of their interaction with the content and a way to teach students to take notes for
themselves.  Taking notes is listed as a key strategy for positively impacting student learning in
Building Academic Vocabulary.  I can also use the note-booking to have direct instruction in note-
taking and organization of those notes.

Classroom activities
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Pre-launch
Each student will receive two index cards, each having a number on it, and each group will sort its
cards from least to greatest.  The numbers will vary in size from hundreds to billions. As a follow
up activity students will be given a target number to represent in their notebooks.  They may
create pictures, computational problems, word problems, decompose or compose it, or graphically
represent it. I will have a variety of card sets, some of which are obvious to sort, say order of
magnitude or largest digit, and others of which have some pairs that have the same magnitude,
and only differ in some digit three or four places from the leading digit.

Estimating demonstrations
Our first one will involve putting jelly beans in cups of graduated sizes. (1/4 cup, ½ cup, 1 cup, and
2 ½ cups)  This will give students a chance to put their estimation skills to work. It will also help
them see the multiplicative power in our base ten system by noticing that if 10 jelly beans fit into
the ¼ cup then 20 might fit into the ½ cup measure, and 40 jelly beans might fit into the cup. Also,
the leading digit will probably just scale up like that, but the second digit may not. Discussion as to
why this happens will be instructive. Students will check how closely the number scale is to the
exact counting of jelly beans in each measuring cup.  The process of counting actual items in each
measuring cup will be repeated to see if exactly the same number of items go in each time it is
filled. The second demonstration, anchored to the Greater Estimations book, will involve using
grains of rice in the same cups.  I want students to realize that more grains of rice will fit into a ¼
cup than jelly beans due to the size of the item.  Scale of items is paramount when determining a
reasonable estimate. Students will estimate how many grains of rice will fit into a jelly bean.  We
will use the same idea of estimating how many grains of rice will fit into the same cups as the jelly
beans.  In this demonstration though I will first give each table group just 1 jelly bean and 1 grain
of rice, and will have them pre-estimate how many will fit into the cups and noting an estimate in
their notebook. Then we will actually count out the number of grains of rice in the ¼ cup and make
estimates for the other sizes. The final use of the cups will be to estimate the number of granules
of sugar.  Again, the logic should be that more granules of sugar will fit into the same cups than
either the rice or the jelly beans.  Once again students will use 1 jelly bean, 1 grain of rice and 1
sugar granule to make an initial estimate. They will also estimate how many granules of sugar will
fit into a grain of rice, or in a jelly bean. Then the procedure will repeat. How many granules do you
think will fit into the ¼ cup? Each group will explain their estimate so that all receive the advantage
of their peers’ thinking process. The granules of sugar will reach into the millions and billions since
approximately ¼ cup of sugar = one million, as stated in Adler’s book, Millions, Billions and
Trillions.

I will use an activity from Great Estimations using cereal O’s to estimate the total number of O’s in
the box.  First, students count one hundred O’s and cluster the O’s into a circle. Next students
count one thousand O’s and put these into circle. I can use this as a discussion on the order of
magnitude of each amount represented.  I will have them notice that the larger circle has a
diameter only 3 to 4 times the diameter of the smaller one, and discuss why that might be true.
Students will write one hundred and one thousand using both the fourth step in place value [100 =
1 ´ (10 ´ 10); 1000 = 1 ´ (10 ´ 10 ´ 10)] and using exponents. (100= 10²; 1000 = 10³) The two
circles are then used to estimate the total number of O’s in the entire box of cereal. Once the
entire box is emptied those O’s will be shaped into a circle; this demonstration is using the eye
training strategy to notice the relative size of each circle of O’s to estimate a larger amount.

Students will use differences in weight to think about the concept that larger weights take up more
space.  I will have one pound, five pound, and ten pound bags of dog food for them to pick up. I
will lead a discussion about the size of the bags in relation to the weight of the bag. I will then
project the picture of page 25 in Greater Estimations.  I will point out that the linear dimensions of
the 10 pound bag are nowhere near 10 times the dimensions of the 1 pound bag. We might
discuss how much dog food could fit in a bag with dimensions 10 times the one pound bag. I will
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use this discussion to make an analogy with the thousands cube in the base ten blocks set.
Benchmarks of the Brussels griffin dog weighing about ten pounds and the Bernese mountain dog
weighing one hundred pounds should help student small groups generate an estimate of weight
for other dogs pictured. Again, the ratio of linear dimensions will be much less than 10. Two
examples that are similar in size would be the Yorkshire terrier and the German shepherd.  The
relative size of the terrier and shepherd are similar to the griffin and mountain dog. This
demonstration will lead to a whole class discussion where each small group will give two-three
examples of other dog breeds chosen and the estimate of weight for each.  The groups will be
able to share their thinking and justification about how the estimate was derived.   

Interactive math notebook

The interactive portion will be where students will save space at the bottom of each page for me
(approximately one pinky length measuring up from bottom of the page) to jot down questions,
ideas or notes to them on a weekly basis. By the end of the week, students will respond the
following prompts in narrative writing to show their learning: What did I learn? And how can I show
this learning?  I can also use the note-booking to have direct instruction in note-taking and
organization of those notes.

Number line
Students will create a large-scale number line in the hallway in our school.  It will begin at my door
with the zero mark, ten spaces will be added by using a paper tens bar cut apart and glued onto
this line end to end.  The next mark will be where one hundred would come based upon the paper
one hundred grid being cut into strips of tens and also glued in a linear fashion on the number
line.  Students will then use their estimating strategies to determine where they believe one
thousand would be located.  Students will use ten, one hundred grids cut apart to measure and
check. This process will continue until we have determined where, at minimum, one million might
be located if we could continue the line out into the neighborhood. As an additional component, I
want students to use some calculations to add in reference points on their number line.  A few
possibilities are: 

How many times has your heart beat from birth to your last birthday? Or in all?

How many minutes old are you?

How many seconds old are you?

How much will you earn over a lifetime if you choose x profession? (Professional athlete, CEO,
teacher, small business owner, lawyer, dentist, minimum wage worker) I will use this question to
discuss maximum and minimum earnings to see if the difference is less than one order of
magnitude. This is just an exposure of this concept, I will not be assessing this topic.

Appendix
Implementing District Standards
Oklahoma Academic Standards—Mathematics

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4.N.1.5 Solve multi-step real-world and mathematical problems requiring the use of addition,
subtraction, and multiplication of multi-digit whole numbers. Use various strategies, including the
relationship between operations, the use of appropriate technology, and the context of the problem
to assess the reasonableness of results.

4.N.2.7 Compare and order decimals and whole numbers using place value, a number line and
models such as grids and base 10 blocks.

5.N.1.4 Solve real-world and mathematical problems requiring addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division of multi-digit whole numbers. Use various strategies, including the inverse
relationships between operations, the use of technology, and the context of the problem to assess
the reasonableness of results.

6.N.1.1 Represent integers with counters and on a number line and rational numbers on a number
line, recognizing the concepts of opposites, direction, and magnitude; use integers and rational
numbers in real-world and mathematical situations, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.

Oklahoma Academic Standards—Language Arts

Standard 1: Speaking and Listening:  Students will speak and listen effectively in a variety of
situations including, but not limited to, responses to reading and writing.

5.1.R.2 Students will ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify about
information presented orally through text or other media to confirm understanding.

5.1.R.3 Students will engage in collaborative discussions about appropriate topics and texts,
expressing their own ideas clearly while building on the ideas of others in pairs, diverse groups,
and whole class settings.

Notes
1. Jo Boaler, “Introduction,” What’s Math Go to Do With It?
2. John Allen Paulos, “Examples and Principles,” 12.
3. Carol Dweck and Lisa Blackwell, “You Can Grow Your Intelligence,”
4. Jo Boaler, “What’s Going Wrong in Classrooms,” What’s Math Got to Do With It?
5. Ibid. 108.
6. Jessica F. Shumway, “Number Sense, What Does It Mean?” Number Sense Routines. 8.
7. Lawrence Weinstein and John A. Adams, “guesstimations,” How to Solve Problems. 2.
8. Thomas Rowan and Barbara Bourne, “Evaluation,” Thinking Like Mathematicans,
9. Joan Countryman, Writing to Learn Mathematics. 10.
10. Jo Boaler, “Giving Children the Best Mathematical Start,” What’s Math Got to Do With It?

Annotated bibliography
Adler, David. Millions, Billions, and Trillions, Understanding Big Numbers. New York:

Holiday House, 2013.  A picture book about very big numbers with vibrant illustrations.

Boaler, Jo. What’s Math Got to Do With It? New York: Penguin Books, 2015.  Dr. Boaler discusses issues with
mathematics instruction and offers ideas for both parents and teachers.

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Burns, Marilyn. About Teaching Mathematics, a K-8 Resource. Sausalito, California: Math   Solutions Publications,
2000.

Casa, Tutita M., Kyle Evans, Janine M. Firmender and Madelyn W. Colonnese. “Why Should Students Write in Math
Class?” Educational Leadership 74, no. 5 (Feb. 2017).

www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb1y/vol74/num05/why-should-students-write-in-math-class€.aspx.
I used this article to find out more on writing in math class.

Dweck, Carol. Mindsets in the Classroom. New York: Ballantine Books, 2006.  This book discusses the fixed and
growth mindsets model and provides activities for implementation in the classroom.

Eames Office. “Powers of Ten.” Accessed on July 11, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0.  This video shows the orders of magnitude from a picnic in Chicago
to the outer bounds of the universe.

Goldstone, Bruce. Great Estimations. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006. Bright colorful pictures depicting
many collections used to train the eye to make better estimates.

Goldstone, Bruce. Greater Estimations. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008. A picture book to work with larger
numbers, ranging from thousands to billions.

Marzano, Robert J. Building Academic Vocabulary Teacher’s Manual. New York:  ASCD Press, 2001.  The companion
to Dr. Marzano’s book on the most useful strategies to improve academic engagement.

Paulos, John Allen. Innumeracy. New York:  Hill and Wang, 2001. The author describes how many people do not
understand math literacy.

Rowan, Thomas and Barbara Bourne. Thinking Like Mathematicians, Putting the NCTM Standards into Practice.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire:  Heinemann, 2001. Provides an overview of the NCTM standards for math and how to
use every day in the classroom.

Shumway, Jessica F. Number Sense Routines, Building Numerical Literacy in Grades K-3.

Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 2011. This book provides foundational Mathematics practices to ensure that
students are successful in math.

Sousa, David A. How the Brain Learns Mathematics. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin,

2015. Dr. Sousa discusses the implications of brain research on math instruction for students in elementary all the
way through high school. Book has great resources.

Vasileiadis, George. “Powers of Ten Ultimate Zoom.” Accessed on June 20, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F16qnZzVRAU. This video also shows the orders of magnitude.

Wise Wanderer. “ Mind Blowing!...The Earth Compared to the Rest of the Universe.”

Accessed on June 20, 2018. https://youtube.como/watch?v=1Eh5BpSnBBw. This video shows the relative size of the
planets and stars throughout our universe.

Weinstein, Lawrence and John A. Adams. Guesstimation. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2008.
An intriguing little book filled with opportunities to guesstimate answers to real world problems.

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