Joint Math Lesson Plan

Courtney Crawford & Shara Katlin

Subject/Topic: Second Grade Math Lesson on Quantity Estimation and Comparison
Rationale: Part of a unit on Quantity Estimation and Comparison
Standards
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.NBT.A.2- Understand Place Value
1. Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.NBT.A.4- Understand Place Value
4. Compare two three-digit numbers based on meanings of the hundreds, tens, and
ones digits, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons
Objectives: SWBAT
1. Estimate the amount of seeds in their pumpkin
2. Using counting, determine the actual amount of seeds in their pumpkin
3. Utilize comparison vocabulary such as greater than, less than or equal to, to
compare their estimates to their official findings
4. Explain their thinking process/strategies for completing the activity
Materials

Book- How many seed in a pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara

Real Pumpkin

Worksheet(s)

Plastic Pumpkin Containers

Counters

Comparison Cards

Procedures

Engagement/ Anticipatory Set

Students will be asked to join us on the carpet
We will place the pumpkin in front of them
Ask questions: What is a pumpkin? What does it have inside?
Ask: How many seeds are in a pumpkin?

Guided Practice:
Engage students in a discussion about estimation and comparison
Discuss how estimation is based off of reasoning and sense making, and
making an educated hypothetical guess
Using the Comparison Cards as a visual resource, discuss the use of less than,
greater than, or equal to
Students will be asked to then make a hypothesis about how many seeds they
think are in the pumpkin
Students will turn and talk to a partner and share their thoughts
Discuss as whole and move on
Introduce and begin reading How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret
McNamara
Read from page 2-14, incorporating only the necessary elements of the story

Independent Application:
Students will return to their desks
Will be given fake pumpkin with seeds as a group with a predetermined
amount of counters in each
One pumpkin will have 36 counters and they will have an anchor of 2, one
pumpkin will have 56 counters and they will have an anchor of 5, and the last
pumpkin will have 78 counters and they will have an anchor of ten.
We will place an anchor of either 2, 5, or 10 counters in the center of the
group
They will use the anchor as a reference for making their predictions
Within their groups they will make an estimate on how many seeds are
inside the pumpkin on their own individual worksheets
After each student in the group has made their predictions, they will proceed
to counting the seeds
As an entire group, students will count the pumpkin seeds inside the
pumpkin and record their data on the worksheet provided
They will carefully turn the pumpkin over in the center of the group making

sure none fall on the floor

Students will gently work together to separate their counters into the
amount of their groups anchor
For example: Table 1s anchor will be 2 counters. When they are to count
collectively how many seeds they have, they will separate them into piles of
2 in the center of their group.
Once all of their counters are separated into piles, students will count
together how many total counters they have
Each group will count by 2s, 5s, or 10s based on their anchor
Any additional counters that did not complete an entire stack will be counted
individually

Closure
Reconvene on carpet
Discuss if their estimates were close, just about, or more/ less than what they
had previously thought
Determine which pumpkin had the most seeds.
After discussing our estimates compared to our results, students will be
encouraged to go home as they prepare for Halloween and the rest of the fall
season to do the same activity at home with their families. Students were
able to actively listen to the story in order to identify the problem, make
predictions and compare their predictions to the way the problem was
solved

Assessment
Students were able to demonstrate knowledge of estimation and comparison,
evident through their group discussions and results on their worksheets
On their worksheets students will describe a strategy they used to arrive at
their answer
Students will collaborate together to use their anchors as a reference when
counting the total number of counters
Students were able to complete the worksheet correctly with 80% accuracy

 Based on the discussion, students were able to clearly verbally articulate

what they learned

Name: ___________________________________________________
Comparing Seeds
Directions: Record your estimate of how many seeds are in the pumpkin
in the box on the left by drawing or writing. Record the actual amount
of pumpkin seeds in the box to the right by drawing or writing. At the
bottom, complete the sentence.
Estimation

Actual Amount

Question: What strategy did you use to make your prediction?

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Question: What strategy did you use to count the total number of
seeds?
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