Native American students learn to estimate, measure, predict

Math skills aren’t just about adding and subtracting anymore; they also include higher level thinking skills, such as being able to measure, predict and analyze results. These skills were in practice when the Native American Education Program held its March event at Maricopa Elementary School.

Families were able to complete nine different math activities throughout the evening in this fourth academic activity night of the school year.

The popular math activities included children measuring out the ingredients for a root beer float—and then getting to eat it. They could also measure their height by making a paperclip chain, then comparing it to the heights of other children.

Estimation Station featured guessing how many jellybeans were in a jar, how much money was in another jar and the weights of both a watermelon and honeydew melon. Winners of Estimation Station were:

Erin Yarberry – Jellybeans Jar (guess – 3,543/actual – 3,692)
Cassandra John – Money Jar (guess – $25/actual – $26.46)
Isaiah Salter – Watermelon (guess – 4 lb., 2 oz./actual – 4 lb., 6 oz.)
Mariella Garcia – Honeydew (guess – 7 lb./actual – 7 lb., 2 oz.)

Children enjoy the Take Your Licks activity, predicting how many licks it would take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop and testing their predictions by eating one while counting the licks. Penny Flip enabled children to predict the outcome of 20 flips of a penny and then to check the accuracy of their prediction.

A graphing activity for the number of birthdays in a month and favorite kinds of ice cream was provided, as well as one using block patterns to make different shapes plus reading a menu to decide what to eat without going over $20.

Assisting children with the various activities throughout the evening’s event were Lynnann Yazzie and members of the Maricopa High School AmerInd Club, MUSD volunteer Leanne Clark, Maricopa Wells Middle School math teacher, Rita Ortez and resource teacher Christine Friedemann and her husband John, Carmen Romero and family, Terry Shull and MHS student Logan Abel.

“As I walked through the various stations, it was such a great experience to see the children enjoying the different concepts of math,” said June Shull, program director and Native American parent liaison for the school district. 

“Every family that attended received a “Helping Your Child Learn Math” booklet loaded with math activities and games that bring math concepts into real world experiences,” added Shull. “We also held a raffle at the end of the night; prizes included several board and card games that reinforce math skills.”  
 
Photo by Joyce Hollis