The first slide of the PowerPoint shows a picture in which students are to estimate some objects. After they have made their estimates, a series of clues are given. The clues that are given relate to the number of objects the students are estimating.
When a clue is given students are to mark out any numbers that are not the correct amount on their hundreds chart. For example, if the clue says “The number is odd.”, the students will mark off all of the even numbers on their board because the estimate is not even. If their original estimate was an even number they will need to change their estimate.
Each time they get a clue they will mark the numbers off of their board and change their estimate if they need to. Students should be able to explain why they choose or changed their number at any time.
A total of 4 to 5 clues are given one at a time. Each time they need to change their estimate if necessary. After all of the clues are given the students will make their final estimates and discuss their reasoning with their partner. Finally, the answer is revealed.
This activity is a great way to review estimation strategies as well as math vocabulary. It does not take a lot of class time to do this weekly. While using these warm-ups students are making sense of problems and reasoning about why their answer is correct. They are explaining their reasoning and question the reasoning of other students.
