To discuss the term estimation, the definition of which can sometimes be lost in a discussion, is important especially in the early years. Estimation is the process of evaluating a quantity when the situation calls for a tentative or "rough" number. Estimation is not merely "guessing." It helps to define estimation and understand that an estimate, a reasonable one, depends on mathematical understandings of both measurement and numerosity.
April 25, 2020
Whether you have a machine at home or visit a laundromat, there is all kinds of math involved in doing laundry. And there are all kinds of ways that children of all ages can join in the thinking and doing.
Regardless of how high a preschooler can rote count, a child’s sense of what those numbers actually mean develops gradually. We call this understanding number sense, and it requires relating numbers to real quantities.
Ellen Stoll Walsh's book Mouse Count can be used in the classroom to cover such broad-ranging topics as data analysis, number sense, and number and operations. Key concepts such as estimation can be explored and…
This book is a delightful way to start a discussion about estimation in the early grades. Is it reasonable that Hugh Thomas caught a million fish?
A student approximates the number of cubes in collections of increasing quantity.
A child estimates the number of cubes in a collection.
A child estimates the number of cubes in a collection.
The award winning classic children’s story Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina is one that preschoolers love to act out. Using discussion to make some connections to the children’s own lives, and to math, can…
In this video, students compare the size of their hands to objects around the classroom to find ones that are "just right."