Lesson 5

The purpose of an Estimation Exploration is to practice the skill of estimating a reasonable answer based on experience and known information. 

• Groups of 2
• Display the image.
• “¿Qué estimación sería muy alta?, ¿muy baja?, ¿razonable?” // “What is an estimate that’s too high? Too low? About right?”
• 1 minute: quiet think time

• “Discutan con su compañero cómo pensaron” // “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
• 1 minute: partner discussion
• Record responses.

• “¿Qué artículos necesitarían comprar para terminar las habitaciones después de construir una minicasa?” // “What are some of the items you would need to buy to finish the rooms after you built a tiny house?” (furniture, cabinets, stove, lights, pictures, bed)

The purpose of this activity is for students to calculate the cost of finishing a room in the tiny house they designed. Students will have a cost sheet with common items, but, if time permits, students could research the cost of additional items that are not listed. Also, the lesson could be extended by having students finish a second room in their tiny house design.

When students decide which room to work on and which items to purchase for the room, with a constraint of \$1,000, they model with mathematics (MP4).

• Each student needs the tiny house design they created in the previous lesson.

• Groups of 2
• “Individualmente, calculen el costo de terminar una habitación de la minicasa que diseñaron. Tienen un presupuesto de $1,000. Después de que hayan trabajado individualmente, van a tener más tiempo para trabajar con un compañero” // “Work independently to calculate the cost of finishing a room in the tiny house you designed. You have a budget of \$1,000. You’ll have some time to work with a partner after you’ve spent some time working independently.”

• 10–12 minutes: independent work time
• “Ahora pueden dedicar un tiempo a trabajar con su compañero o pueden seguir trabajando individualmente. Si escogen trabajar individualmente, estén disponibles en caso de que su compañero necesite ayuda para pensar en su diseño” // “Now, you can spend some time working with your partner or continue working independently. If you choose to work independently, still be available to your partner if they need help thinking about their design.”
• 10–15 minutes: partner or independent work time
• Monitor for what students use to finish their rooms and encourage them to include critical items such as flooring and plumbing in rooms where it's required.

• “Dime cuánto gastaste para terminar tu habitación” // “Tell me about how much you spent on finishing your room?”
• “¿Cómo te ayudaría redondear o estimar a mantener el costo por debajo de $1,000?” // “How could rounding or estimating help you keep the cost under \$1,000?”

• Display student work.
• “Tómense un momento para hacer un recorrido y ver qué habitaciones escogieron sus compañeros y cómo las terminaron. Escriban algo que observen y algo que se pregunten” // “Take some time to walk around and see what room your classmates chose to finish and how they finished the room. Write down something that you notice and something that you wonder.”
• 3–5 minutes: independent work time
• 1 minute: partner discussion
• Share responses.