COWBOY

1. COWBOY CATHY JONES STEM Math Instruction Specialist Center for Mathematics and Science Education Arkansas NASA Education Resource Center 346 N. West Avenue, Room 202 Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 (479) 575-3875 (479) 575-5680 (FAX) E-mail: cej001@uark.edu Web: http://www.uark.edu/~k12 info/ Wiki: cmasemath.pbworks.com Measurement Estimation Measurement & Conversions CCSS: 3.MD.2 & 5.MD.1 Developed and presented by:

2. COWBOY Measurement Mathematical goals: As students participate in the 3 activities, they will estimate, measure in metrics (linear, capacity, & weight), find differences, and mean. Other academic gains: Reading the station cards students will gain historical facts of the “Old West.” Materials needed & management instructions: COWBOY HAT TOSS: Station Cards, Cowboy hats, meter stick, additional meter sticks or metric tape measure, masking tape. Print and laminate the station card. Set up a station with enough room to toss a hat. Use the tape to mark off a starting line. Toss with the same type motion as tossing a frisbee. On a table or to the side of the tossing area, tape down a meter stick and label it, “ 1 meter” so the students will have a visual to relate to in their estimating. Use the other measurement devices to measure the distance thrown. Complete the data on the recording sheet. COWBOY HAT CAPACITY: Cowboy hats of any size that will hold water (plastic, foam, etc), metric measuring cups or graduated cylinders, various sized containers of water, additional water, containers to set under the hats, paper towel. Set up the station at a table. Set the hats inside the container to catch any spilled water. For student’s benchmark in estimating, label the capacity on various sized bottles of water. Use the additional water to fill the hat and measure the water it hold in Liters. Complete the data on the recording sheet. COWBOY BEANS ESTIMATION: Tin can filled with dried pinto beans, unopened 1 lb and 2 lb bags of dried pinto beans, triple beam balance, extra container to hold the beans in the can. Set up the station at a table. Have the unopened bags of beans labeled in grams for the students to use as a benchmark in their estimating. Let students find their own method, but watch and make sure they realize they must find the mass of the container, in order to find the mass of the beans alone. Complete the data on the recording sheet.

3. COWBOY Measurement Cowboy hats are one of the most recognizable pieces of apparel in the world.  When you see someone wearing a cowboy hat the mind immediately turns to cattle and horses, open ranges, and the untamed West. The cowboy hat was invented by John Stetson in 1865 and it didn't take long for the cowboys on the open range to realize that the large brim protected them against the elements. You often see cowboys taking their hats off and giving it a wild throw…some in excitement, such as when they make a good ride in a rodeo, and some in disgust, when the cows break out of the corral or when the cowboy did not make the 8 seconds ride on the bull. For this activity toss the hat, estimate the distance in meters, then measure the accurate distance. Record all the information on the Recording Sheet. Cowboy Hat Toss

4. Print this page. Cut apart and place on a strip of paper making it stretch the length of a meter. Laminate and place alongside a meter stick while students are doing this activity. 1Meter

5. COWBOY Measurement . Many cattle drives from Texas to markets in Nebraska and Kansas took place between 1866 and 1900. The Chisholm Trail, which went through Oklahoma, become so crowded that cattle and men had great difficulty in finding water along the way. Daily travel distances were gauged by the location of Waterin’ Holes. A cattle drive typically covered about 10 to 15 miles a day with a drive to western Kansas taking between 25 and a 100 days. The cowboy often used his hat to dip into the water and he drank right along side his horse. For this activity estimate the capacity of the hat in liters, then measure what it will actually hold. Record all the information on the Recording Sheet. Cowboy Hat Capacity

6. Print this page. Cut into 3 strips. Laminate and attach to the appropriate size containers and place on the table while students are doing this activity. (Approx. 3.8 liters is a gallon.) 1Liter 2 Liters Approximately 3.8 Liters

7. COWBOY Measurement The centerpiece of any cattle drive was the chuck wagon. In many ways the cook or "cookie" was the most important member of the drive, and he generally got paid better than the other men. The cook drove the chuck wagon ahead of the herd and was responsible for selecting campsites in the evenings and stopovers for the noonday meal. Besides the cook, there was the trail boss, an experienced cowboy who had been up the trail before, knew where the grass and water were and also knew the dangers along the trail. Typical meals consisted of bread, meat, beans with bacon and coffee. For this activity estimate the mass/weight of the BEANS in the can, then use the scales to find the accurate mass of the BEANS. Record all the information on the Recording Sheet. Cowboy Beans Estimation

8. Print this page. Cut into 2 strips, laminate and place 454 gr with a 1 lb bag of pinto beans, place 907 gr with a 2 lb bag of pinto beans. 454 grams 907 grams

9. _______________’s COWBOY Measurement Recording Sheet Name CCSS: 3.MD.2 plus use of knowledge from 2.MD Accurate measure Difference Estimation Hat Toss: __________meters _________meters ________meters Hat Capacity: __________liters _________liters _________liters Beans Estimation: __________grams _________grams _________grams How good of an ESTIMATOR are you? Find the MEAN (average) of the differences. ROUND your answer to HUNDREDTHS PLACE (2 DECIMAL PLACES). Mean of the differences:______ Now pardner, complete the recording sheet, make sure your name is at the top, and turn it in when you’re done. GOOD LUCK ON THE ROUND-UP!

10. METRIC Conversions Stair Step Method CCSS: 5.MD.1 To remember the prefixes in order remember: King Henry Doesn't [Usually] Drink Chocolate Milk To make conversions: Step left or right and count your steps. Each step is ten times or one-tenth as much as the step on either side. Prefix Kilo (k)- 1000 times the unit Prefix Hecto (h) - 100 times the unit Prefix Deka (dk) - 10 times the unit NO PREFIX is the UNIT - (m) meter, (L) liter, (g) gram Prefix Deci (d) - 0.1 times the unit Prefix Centi (c) - 0.01 times the unit Prefix Milli (m) - 0.001 times the unit

11. METRIC Conversions CCSS: 5.MD.1 Confused about how to make metric conversions? You just need to be able to count to 6, and know your left from your right! • To use the Stair-Step method: • Find the prefix the original measurement starts with. (ex. milligram) • Find the step which you wish to make the conversion to. (ex. decigram) • Determine in which direction you move and count the number of steps you move, (left or right)….DO NOT COUNT WHERE YOU START…ONLY THE STEPS! • The decimal in your original measurement moves the same number of places as steps you moved and in the same direction. (ex. milligram to decigram is 2 steps to the left, so 40 milligrams = .40 decigrams) • If the number of steps you move is larger than the number you have, you will have to add zeros to hold the places. (ex. kilometers to meters is three steps to the right, so 10 kilometers would be equal to 10,000 meters. • That’s all there is to it! You need to be able to count to 6, and know your left from your right!

12. Recording Sheet _______________’s Name COWBOY Measurement & METRIC Conversions CCSS: 5.MD.1 Need some help? See the grey box below! Hat Toss: ESTIMATION: ____meters ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS: ______kilometers ______hectometers ______dekameters ______meters ______decimeters ______centimeters ______millimeters Hat Capacity: ESTIMATION: ____liters ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS: ______kiloliters _______hectoliters ________dekaliters ________liters ______deciliters ______centiliters _______milliliters Beans Estimation: ESTIMATION: ____grams ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS: ______kilograms _______hectograms ________dekagrams ________grams ______decigrams ______centigrams _______milligrams To remember the prefixes in order remember: King Henry Doesn't [Usually] Drink Chocolate Milk To make conversions: Step left or right and count your steps.