An estimate is a careful guess before you count. The button tin from the art press spills across the desk. More than 20 or fewer? More than 50? Hold your estimate quietly in your head. No counting yet.
Two spills of counters. Each one shows its true count, so make a careful estimate before we look. Then we split the count into tens and units: 32 is 10, 20, 30 and 2 more. The leftovers (the ones that do not make a full ten) are the units.
Now a bigger spill. Estimate first, then split the true count into tens and units.
A new spill of counters. Make a silent estimate first. Then we reveal the true count, compare it with your estimate, and split it into tens and units.
Today we work through these sets together. Estimate first, then check. How many full tens are in the true count, and how many units?
How does grouping into tens make a big count quick and sure?
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