Grades 4-7
Estimation
Measurement
Developed and presented by:
CATHY JONES
Secondary Math Instruction Specialist
Center for Mathematics and Science Education
Arkansas NASA Education Resource Center
346 N. West Avenue, Room 202
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
(479) 575-3875
(479) 575-5680 (FAX)
E-mail: cej001@uark.edu
Web: http://www.uark.edu/~k12 info/
Wiki: cmasemath.pbwiki.com
Mathematical goals: As students participate in the 3 activities, they will estimate, measure in
metrics (linear, capacity, & weight), find differences, and mean.
Other academic gains: Reading the station cards students will gain historical facts of the “Old
West.”
Materials needed & management instructions:
COWBOY HAT TOSS: Station Cards, Cowboy hats, meter stick, additional meter sticks or
metric tape measure, masking tape.
Print and laminate the station card. Set up a station with enough room to toss a hat. Use the
tape to mark off a starting line. Toss with the same type motion as tossing a frisbee. On a
table or to the side of the tossing area, tape down a meter stick and label it, “ 1 meter” so
the students will have a visual to relate to in their estimating. Use the other measurement
devices to measure the distance thrown. Complete the data on the recording sheet.
COWBOY HAT CAPACITY: Cowboy hats of any size that will hold water (plastic, foam, etc),
metric measuring cups or graduated cylinders, various sized containers of water, additional
water, containers to set under the hats, paper towel.
Set up the station at a table. Set the hats inside the container to catch any spilled water.
For student’s benchmark in estimating, label the capacity on various sized bottles of water.
Use the additional water to fill the hat and measure the water it hold in Liters. Complete the
data on the recording sheet.
COWBOY BEANS ESTIMATION: Tin can filled with dried pinto beans, unopened 1 lb and 2 lb
bags of dried pinto beans, triple beam balance, extra container to hold the beans in the can.
Set up the station at a table. Have the unopened bags of beans labeled in grams for the
students to use as a benchmark in their estimating. Let students find their own method, but
watch and make sure they realize they must find the mass of the container, in order to find
the mass of the beans alone. Complete the data on the recording sheet.
Cowboy hats are one of the most recognizable pieces of apparel in the
world. When you see someone wearing a cowboy hat the mind immediately
turns to cattle and horses, open ranges, and the untamed West. The cowboy
hat was invented by John Stetson in 1865 and it didn't take long for the
cowboys on the open range to realize that the large brim protected them
against the elements.
You often see cowboys taking their hats off and giving it a wild throw…some in
excitement, such as when they make a good ride in a rodeo and some in disgust
when the cows break out of the corral or when the cowboy did not make the 8
seconds ride on the bull.
For this activity toss the hat, estimate the distance in meters, then measure
the accurate distance. Record all the information on the Recording Sheet.
1Meter
Print this page. Cut apart and place on a strip of paper making it stretch the length of a meter. Laminate and place alongside a meter stick while
students are doing this activity.
.
Many cattle drives from Texas to markets in Nebraska and Kansas took place
between 1866 and 1900. The Chisholm Trail, which went through Oklahoma,
become so crowded that cattle and men had great difficulty in finding water
along the way.
Daily travel distances
drive typically covered
Kansas taking between
dip into the water and
were gauged by the location of Waterin’ Holes. A cattle
about 10 to 15 miles a day with a drive to western
25 and a 100 days. The cowboy often used his hat to
he drank right along side his horse.
For this activity estimate the capacity of the hat in liters, then measure what
it will actually hold. Record all the information on the Recording Sheet.
Print this page. Cut into 3 strips. Laminate and attach to the appropriate size containers and place on the table while students are doing this
activity. (Approx. 3.8 liters is a gallon.)
1Liter
2 Liters
Approximately
3.8 Liters
The centerpiece of any cattle drive was the chuck wagon. In many ways the
cook or "cookie" was the most important member of the drive, and he generally
got paid better than the other men. The cook drove the chuck wagon ahead of
the herd and was responsible for selecting campsites in the evenings and
stopovers for the noonday meal. Besides the cook, there was the trail boss, an
experienced cowboy who had been up the trail before, knew where the grass
and water were and also knew the dangers along the trail. Typical meals
consisted of bread, meat, beans with bacon and coffee.
For this activity estimate the mass/weight of the BEANS in the can, then use
the scales to find the accurate mass of the BEANS. Record all the information
on the Recording Sheet.
Print this page. Cut into 2 strips, laminate and place 454 gr with a 1 lb bag of pinto beans, place 907 gr with a 2 lb bag of pinto beans.
454 grams
907 grams
Name
Hat Toss:
__________meters _________meters
________meters
Hat Capacity:
__________liters
_________liters
_________liters
_________grams
_________grams
Beans Estimation: __________grams
How good of an ESTIMATOR are you?
Find the MEAN (average) of the differences.
ROUND your answer to HUNDREDTHS PLACE (2 DECIMAL PLACES).
Mean of the differences:
______
The cowboy (or cowgirl) with the least difference will be the all around winner.
Now pardner, complete the recording sheet, make sure your name is at the
top, and place it in the box.
GOOD LUCK ON THE ROUND-UP!