Minds On

Collections

A collection is a special group of items that someone gathers and keeps in one place.

Some people collect:

  • stickers
  • coins
  • rocks
  • special toys
  • cards

In the following video, we meet Javier, a 9-year-old Ojibwe boy from Manitoulin Island.

What items does Javier collect?

Explore this video entitled “Javier” to learn more about Javier’s special collections.

Javier shares a special coin collection. How many coins does Javier have in his collection?

Examine the following image to help you answer.

Javier has 12 coins in his collection.

Press Answer to learn how many coins Javier has.

There are 12 coins in Javier’s collection!

Action

How many?

Marbles are an item that some people collect.

Marbles come in all different sizes and have many different fun uses!

Do you know anyone who collects marbles? Have you ever played with marbles?

Guess the marbles!

We can play different kinds of games using marbles.

One type of marble game is to guess how many are in a container.

Examine the image of marbles in a jar.

Tens of marbles in a jar.

Guess a number of marbles in the jar that is:

  • too high
  • too low

Press Hint to explore an example of a guess that is too high and one that is too low.

An example of a guess that is too high: 500

An example of a guess that is too low: 1

Making our best guess

Now that we’ve had a little fun, let’s make our best guess of how many marbles.

We can make our best guess by noticing patterns or groups of items.

Let’s examine the marbles again. This time, do you notice groups or patterns?

Marbles in a jar are arranged in 5 layers of 5 marbles with 2 more marbles on top.

Most of the marbles are in rows of 5!

Noticing groups can help us make our best guess of how many there are altogether.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm

What’s your best guess?

Now, count the marbles to check how close your guess was.

Hint: Since the marbles are in groups of five, try skip counting by five!

27 marbles in a jar.

There are 27 marbles in the jar.

Guess the stickers!

Examine the following sticker collection and guess a number of stickers that is:

  • too high
  • too low
2 heart stickers, 2 flower stickers, a flame sticker, 2 animal stickers, 2 vehicle stickers, 2 emoji stickers, 2 planet stickers.

Do you notice any groups or patterns in the stickers?

Press Answer to learn about what groups or patterns are in the stickers.

The stickers are in groups of 2.

Guess and count the stickers. What’s your best guess of how many stickers?

Next, count the stickers to check how close your guess was.

Hint: Since the stickers are in groups of two, try skip counting by two!

2 heart stickers circled, 2 flower stickers circled, 2 animal stickers circled, 2 vehicle stickers circled, 2 emoji stickers circled, 2 planet stickers circled, and 1 flame sticker that isn't circled.

Press Answer to access how many stickers are in the collection.

There are 13 stickers in the collection.

Consolidation

Guess the rocks!

Explore the following rock collections.

Three trays. The first tray is labeled Tray A and has 10 large rocks in 2 groups of 5. The second tray is labeled Tray B and has 25 medium-sized rocks in 5 groups of 5. The third tray is labeled Tray C and includes 15 small rocks in 3 groups of 5.

Try it

Let’s guess!

Which collection has the most rocks? A, B or C?

Guess how many rocks are in each collection. Show your thinking using a method of your choice.

Hint: when we are making our best guess, we can try noticing patterns or groups of items.

Checking our guess

Now, count the total number of rocks in each collection.

How close was your guess?

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel...

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.