Songs

Velma McKay from the College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, BC, finds that teaching her students silly math songs helps keep them positive about math and helps them remember various facts and algorithms. You will find some of her songs beginning on page 89.

Measurement

Almost anything in the environment can be measured, and anything that can be measured can be estimated.

Linear measures

Ask students, working in pairs, to find two or three things they estimate to be about the same length, measure them and fill in a chart like the one below. For example, the length of a table and the height of a door, or the lengths of a particular cell phone, pen, and notebook.

Weight

• If you have access to a scale, a similar chart to the one above will ask students to estimate and measure the weight of various items.
• Give students a variety of cans or packages with no labels, and ask them to line them up in order from lightest to heaviest, by feel. Then ask them to check their estimates by weighing the objects. The objects should include things that are big and light, big and heavy, small and light, small and heavy, and the containers should be of various shapes.