NAME ______________________________ DATE _______________

Investigation 3

FAMILY LETTER

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Related Activities to Try at Home

Dear Family,

The activities suggested below are related to the mathematics we are currently studying in school. Doing them with your child can enrich your child's mathematical learning.

Sorting Your child can sort collections of objects you have at home: coins, stamps, toys, containers, even laundry. He or she can sort just for fun or to organize some things in your home. As your child sorts a collection, ask him or her questions, such as: “How are some of the buttons the same? How could you sort them into groups? What is the same about all of these? Is there a different way you could sort them?” Your child can also count the number of items in each group and compare the totals.

Surveys In this unit, students conduct their own surveys. Help your child take a survey of your family, friends, or neighbors. Your child can choose a question that is of interest to him or her, create a sheet to record people's responses, ask people the question, and then record their responses. Afterward, ask your child some questions about the results of the survey. For example, ask: “What did you find out? How many people said they liked the ocean? How many people didn't like the ocean? Did more people like the ocean than did not? Were you surprised by people's responses?”

Counting to Collect Data You can encourage your child to collect data about the number of certain items in your home: How many forks are there? How many windows? How many chairs? How many doors?

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