What is Estimation Clipboard and how do I facilitate it with my students?
Estimation Clipboard is a number sense routine created by Steve Wyborney. He has created 40 FREE lessons (Powerpoints). Steve suggests following the same predictable format with each of the lessons. Begin by sharing the first image and asking students to estimate "How many?" Next, reveal the answer. You may notice that not everyone in your class will be willing to share aloud their estimate with the class and this is okay. Next, show the second image and ask once more "How many?" Since the images are similar, students should have some prior knowledge/context, which they can tap into when estimating; therefore, you may notice a few more students willing to volunteer their estimates. For the third and fourth estimates, have the students record "How Many?" on a piece of paper. Once they have recorded their estimates Steve recommends encouraging a partner talk where students share:
- their estimate
- explain why they chose the number the did. What strategies or reasoning did they apply?
What is the learning?
Estimation clipboard highlights the "doing" of mathematics, also known as the mathematical habits of mind. In BC we refer to these as Curricular Competencies. Not only will students be estimating reasonably, but they will also be reasoning, visualizing, and explaining their mathematical thinking with partners, as well as with the class. If you do this routine with some frequency, is likely that your students will be able to reflect and connect other mathematical ideas, such as using visualizing fractions of the whole (e.g., if 45 items fill the container, then half would be about 22 or 23 and half of that or one-fourth would be about 12).
In terms of the content that can be learned, that depends on the clipboard. Estimation can be applied to any number of quantities or measurement units (e.g., how many centimetres, litres, etc.). Teachers can extend the learning by exploring the range of estimates (e.g., each student records their estimate on a sticky note to create a class range - what is the mean, mode, and/or median?).
In terms of the content that can be learned, that depends on the clipboard. Estimation can be applied to any number of quantities or measurement units (e.g., how many centimetres, litres, etc.). Teachers can extend the learning by exploring the range of estimates (e.g., each student records their estimate on a sticky note to create a class range - what is the mean, mode, and/or median?).
Some of the Estimation Clipboards I've created:
|
|
| ||||||
Supporting websites/blogs:
- Steve Wyborney's Site
- Here is a link to a blogpost I wrote on this topic.