Erika Lopez

Edu 5360
Project Five
My fourth grade site classroom is currently practicing estimation as a means to revise
their multiplication. Therefore, I decided to do an activity regarding estimation for the purpose of
project five. For my activity, I used a book named Becha! by Stuart J. Murphy. Becha! is a book
about two boys who go to a toy store named Planet Toys to participate in a jelly bean jar contest.
Along the way to the toy store, the two friends compete in a few guessing competitions of their
own. This is what I had my students do.
For my activity, I read Becha! aloud to my students. When we would come along the
friends' estimation challenges, I would stop and have the students take an attempt in guessing
along with them. For each estimation challenge, I would ask the students: how they would go
about estimating in the situation, to estimate by showing their work as they used their estimation
strategy, and to provide their estimate, the actual answer, as well as to state whether their
estimation was correct of not. Then, I would continue reading so my students could see what
strategies each of the boys used to get to their estimation. Afterward, I would have the students
practice guessing how many mints I had within a cup by using the same procedure.
My activity was done on a one-on-one basis with three of my fourth grade students.
These students are all within the age of nine years-old, and were composed of a girl and two
boys. Each of these three students vary in their mathematical ability levels. The first boy, whom I
will refer to as Student A, is a student who's math ability depends on the content being studied.
This student I would categorize as transitional, between the lower and higher ability students in
math. The girl I interviewed, whom I will refer to as Student B, is the number one gifted student
within the fourth grade at my site school. The second boy, whom I will refer to as Student C, is

the third highest gifted student within the fourth grade at my site school. However, this student
may be a challenge when it comes to doing math that entails processes. Therefore, I was
interested in interviewing this student as well.
In my activity, I learned Student A took upon an 'average student's' understanding of the
mathematical content I was assessing. For the first estimation challenge, which regards the
amount of people on a bus, Student A said they would estimate by simply guessing. With this
being said, his estimation would not have any mathematical reasoning behind it, but rather it
would be a simple guess. However, when the friend's strategies were exposed after the first
challenge, the student learned to look for patterns when it comes to estimating. In order to help
this student, I learned he needs more exposure and practice with patterns to assist him with other
math processes.
Student B's interview was a different from Student A's. When it came to the first
estimation challenge, Student B said she would estimate by counting the rows of seats on the
bus, then by counting how many people are in each row. However, when it came to showing her
work, the student counted the number of benches, rather than the number of rows. Therefore, her
estimate came out greater than the actual number of people on the bus. To help this student, I
would have her revise her solution by asking her whether her answer make sense. This is a good
way for her to practice analyzing each situation she may come across and check her work.
Student C's interview was similar to Student B's, but different as well. In the first
estimation challenge, Student C took a similar approach to as to Student B. However, instead of
counting the number of benches, he counted the number of rows of people. This was a good
approach, with the exception of not all the rows of people being clearly illustrated. Beyond
attending to precision, I would help this student by attempting to provide him with engaging

math problems which involve multiple steps. Throughout the course of my activity, Student C
remained engaged, regardless of the procedure involved. Thanks to this activity, I was able to
learned a lot about each of my three student.

Materials Used

Becha! Book

Becha! Activity (Problems and Questions)

Rubric

Pencil

Mints

Cup

Becha! Questions and Activity

Question #1: People on the Bus
What would you do to estimate how many other people are on the bus?

Show your work:

My Estimate: _________________
Actual Answer: _______________
Was my estimate correct? ____________________

Question #2: Traffic Jam

How would you estimate how many cars are stuck on the block?

Solve:

My Estimate: _________________
Actual Answer: _______________
Was my estimate correct? ____________________

Question #3: Jelly Bean Jar

How would you estimate how many jelly beans are in the jar?

Solve:

My Estimate: _________________

Actual Answer: _______________

Was my estimate correct? ____________________

Question 4: Your Turn!

How would you estimate how many mints are inside the cup?

Solve:

My Estimate: _______________
Actual Answer: _____________
Was my answer correct? ____________________