Guess-timation Station Jar
To help my Y5’s with number sense as well as groups and sets of objects, I have a Guess-timation Station in my room that consists of a large plastic jar.
Students guess how many coins, cotton balls, Q-tips etc. that are in it each day and write their answer, along with their name, on a guessing slip that they put in the mystery box.
Parents provide the answer on a slip of paper, and during lunch I figure out who has the correct answer or is closest to it.
The jar goes home each night with a different child, along with a laminated note of explanation. Click on the link to view/print the Guess-timation notes home.
At the end of the day, during Share & Tell Time, the student who brought in the jar calls on 3 friends to share their guesses.
We then count the objects out of the jar into a large Baggie and announce the winner, who receives a sticker to put on our Guess-timation Genius poster.
Click on the link to view/print our Guess-timation Genius poster.
The jar goes home with the next student on the list and the Baggie goes home with the student who brought the items.
To encourage participation and promote interest and excitement, the student with the most stickers at the end of the month gets a trip to the treasure box and a certificate.
At the end of the school year, our grand champion, gets a special certificate and prize. Click on the link to view/print Guess-timation Certificates.
My students really enjoy this activity and I see wonderful improvement in their estimating skills by the time we celebrate 100 Day in February.
I display 25 Baggies of items. They have to guess which ones contain 100 of something. Most of my students are 90% accurate!
You can buy big plastic jars at The Dollar Store. It’s a fun and easy activity to set up in your Math Center that I know your students will enjoy.
Click on the link to view/print a Guess-timation Station Center Poster.
If you haven't already done so, be sure and read about my other Guess-timation Station for January by scrolling down.
