Activity Description Practice estimation skills by determining whether the number of objects, the length of a line, or the area of a shape is more or less than the number given. Parameters: error tolerance. More or Less Estimator is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers.

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More or Less Estimator

Place in mathematics curriculum:

• Introduce students to the uses and limits of estimation
• Reinforce basic concepts in geometry such as simple shapes and area

This activity allows the user to estimate quantities and sizes including the number of objects in a set, the lengths of a curve, and the area of a shape by estimating. This activity would work well in small groups of 2-4 for about 15-20 minutes if you use the exploration questions and 10-15 minutes otherwise.

Preparations for this activity:

• Encourage the students to estimate rather than measuring or counting
• Discuss how estimation is not as accurate as measurement
• Explain the difference between close, really close, and almost perfect (almost perfect is the most accurate)
• Suggest that the students eventually increase the difficulty level