harvest_market.pdf

illustrations by Shirley Beckes

It’s autumn...harvest time…a great opportunity

to reap that bumper crop of seasonal math fun.

TO MARKET, TO MARKET

Create a Harvest Market

right in your own classroom to

provide hours of practice and

fun with math skills. Mark off a

special area using blocks, bags

filled with leaves, or hay and

straw bales. Then set up desks

or tables to serve as centers for

various activities…estimating,

counting, sorting, patterning,

measuring, graphing, weighing,

and balancing. Fill your market

with corn stalks, Indian corn,

pumpkins, gourds, apples, nuts,

seeds, and more. Then check out

the batch of math activities and

determine which can be carried

out in a large group setting, in

small groups, in pairs, or inde-

pendently. You decide how to

use the centers for your class’

needs and abilities. Make math

hands-on!

Helpful Hint: To manage the num-

ber of children working at each

center, use fall symbols such as

apples, jack-o-lanterns, acorns,

or leaves to hang or place at the

center indicating the number of

children that can work there at

any given time. Kids will then

see how many spaces are avail-

able and centers will not become

overcrowded.

you had two

acres to plant,

how many

pounds of

pumpkin-

seeds would

you need?

HARVEST, ETC.

Decorate your Harvest

Market by posting a variety of

facts, trivia, and jokes about the

fall harvest in and around the

market area. Here are a few sug-

gestions:

Pumpkins

• Native Americans called

pumpkins isquotersquash

(is-QWO-ter-sqwash). Say that

fast five times!

• A four-pound pumpkin will

make two pumpkin pies. How

many pumpkin pies would an

eight-pound pumpkin make?

Apples

• The apple is a member of the

rose family!

• The first apples grown in

America were planted by the

Pilgrims.

• Did you know that the small-

est apple is called the crab

apple?

• About 1/4 of an apple is air.

That is why an apple can float!

• The largest apple ever picked

weighed three pounds!

• An 800-pound pumpkin is big

enough to make 400 pumpkin

pies! How many pies could

you make with a 400-pound

pumpkin?

• The largest pumpkin ever

grown weighed 1,092 pounds!

• To plant a one-acre pumpkin

patch, you will need four

pounds of pumpkin-seeds. If

Gourds

• Did you know that there are

snake gourds and banana

gourds that are shaped like a

snake and banana?

• Have you ever seen a basket-

ball gourd? It is the size of an

NBA basketball!

Nov/Dec 2001 C OPYCAT

Jokes

• What do you call a fat jack-o-

lantern? A plumpkin!

• How do you fix a broken jack-

o-lantern? With a pumpkin

patch!

• What’s the best way to live to

be one hundred years old?

Eat an apple a day for 36,500

days!

• How can you divide four

apples between five people?

Make applesauce!

the pumpkinseeds to dry. When

dry, put the seeds back into the

pumpkin and place it on a desk

with a sign that asks, “How

many seeds do you think are in

this small pumpkin?” Place a

stack of “How Many Pumpkin-

seeds?” reproducibles next to the

pumpkin so that each student

can write her/his name, jot

down an estimation, and drop

the seed reproducible into a zip-

pered plastic bag that has been

taped to the side of the desk.

Nuts

Fill a jar with nuts (walnuts,

almonds, chestnuts, or pecans)

and place a sign next to the jar

that asks, “How many nuts do

you think are in this jar?” Have

students examine the jar to

determine how many nuts there

are and fill in a nut estimation

reproducible slip with their

answer. Tape a zippered plastic

bag to the side of the desk for

collecting the guesses.

ESTIMATING ACTIVITIES

Estimating and comparing

activities help kids develop the

idea of more, less, and same.

Understanding these concepts

builds the foundation that

enables them to grasp the rela-

tionship between numbers. Try

these fun estimating activities:

Pumpkinseeds

How many seeds are there in a

small pumpkin?

To determine the number of

seeds in a small pumpkin, place

the pumpkin on newspaper and

scoop out the insides. Separate

the seeds from the fiber by soak-

ing the pulp in a bowl of clean

water. Use your hands to sepa-

rate the seeds, place them in a

colander, and rinse again. Allow

the inside of the pumpkin and

How many seeds are there in a

large pumpkin?

Follow the directions for

cleaning out and setting up the

center for the small pumpkin.

On this desk, place the large

pumpkin with a sign that asks,

“How many seeds do you think

are in this large pumpkin?”

Signs of Autumn

Place some of the familiar

things we associate with fall

(leaves, popcorn, acorns, Indian

corn kernels) into a container

and post a sign that asks, “How

many ________ ?” Have students

look carefully, then take a guess

as to how many objects they

think they see, fill in an estima-

tion reproducible slip with their

answer, and drop their guess

into a zippered plastic bag that

has been taped to the side of the

desk.

Do all pumpkins have the same

number of seeds?

After students have done

their small and large pumpkin-

seed estimations, ask kids to

compare the seeds from each of

the pumpkins by answering the

questions on the “Comparing

Pumpkins” reproducible. Have

students place the comparing

reproducible in a zippered plas-

tic bag that has been taped to

the side of the desk.

C OPYCAT Nov/Dec 2001

Grand Prize

As an extra special surprise

and as an incentive in making

thoughtful estimations, fill a jar

with that one and only favorite

fall treat...candy corn! Challenge

kids to estimate the number of

candy corn in the jar and write

the number on a candy corn

reproducible. At the end of your

Harvest Market, count the candy

and you guessed it...winner

takes all!

Counting for the Day

Make counting part of an

exciting fall scavenger hunt.

Each day tape several pictures of

one symbol that represents fall

(pumpkins, leaves, acorns, corn-

cobs, apples) in various places

around the classroom. Challenge

kids to look carefully to find and

count all the hidden symbols,

write that numeral on a small

slip of paper, and tuck the paper

in their desk. At the end of the

day, ask children how many

symbols they found. Then count

the objects together as you

remove the pictures.

Hidden Treasure

Hide several cupfuls of

Indian corn kernels in a sand

table or a tub filled with sand.

Invite kids to go on a treasure

hunt to find as many kernels as

possible in a predetermined

amount of time. Set a timer and

ask students to hunt for corn

kernels until the timer rings.

Then count the kernels!

PATTERNING ACTIVITIES

Patterning introduces chil-

dren to the idea of arranging a

design so that it repeats itself

over and over again in a pre-

dictable way. This skill is helpful

in developing a child’s growing

understanding of mathematics.

Indian Corn Patterns

Encourage kids to create

some interesting and unusual

patterns for Indian corn. Give

kids a corncob reproducible and

ask them to use the many beau-

tiful fall colors to make a pattern

for each row of corn.

Pattern of the Day

Make use of the collection of

nature’s fall goodies and place

them in a box. Each day, create

a new pattern (such as pine

cone-acorn-leaf-pine cone-acorn-

leaf) and ask kids to try to repli-

cate the pattern.

Harvest Necklaces

Create harvest

necklaces using

Indian corn

kernels and

popped corn.

You will need

heavy-duty

sewing needles,

dental floss or

buttonhole twist

thread, popped

corn, and Indian

corn kernels that have been soft-

ened by soaking them in water.

Prepare the needles and thread

beforehand, threading the nee-

dles and knotting a kernel at the

end of the thread. Make a simple

necklace to display at the center

as a sample. Add a sign, “Make a

harvest necklace that has a pat-

tern!”

COUNTING ACTIVITIES

Counting is an important

math skill that prepares children

for number concepts. It’s always

fun even for the littlest counter.

Sunflower Seeds

Place a tray of sunflower

seeds on a desk with a sign—

“Count the sunflower seeds!”

Count all the seeds in the tray

one at a time. Then count all of

the seeds by twos. Count all the

seeds by fives. Finally, count all

of the seeds by tens.

Indian Corn

Duplicate the corncob repro-

ducible sheet and instruct stu-

dents to create their own Indian

corn by coloring the kernels with

yellow, brown, and orange

crayons. When the cob is com-

pletely filled with color, ask kids

to count the number of yellow,

brown, and orange kernels and

write the numeral that tells how

many.

Leaves

Place a

variety of

leaves in a

box. Add the

sign, “Can

you count ten

leaves?” Encourage kids

to sing the following song to the

tune of “Ten Little Indians” as

they count out their leaves.

One little, two little, three little leaves.

Four little, five little, six little leaves.

Seven little, eight little, nine little leaves.

Ten little leaves I count.

SORTING ACTIVITIES

Children learn to organize

things according to properties

through sorting and classifying

objects. They develop logical

thinking as they notice and

describe details.

Same and Different

Gather a variety of fall

objects that kids can sort...nuts,

leaves, gourds, etc. Ask children

to place the “like” objects togeth-

er in groups. Then challenge stu-

dents to take sorting one step

further by separating the objects

in the larger groups into smaller

groups. Leaves into maples,

oaks, birch, etc., nuts into wal-

nuts, pecans, almonds, etc.,

gourds into different colors, etc.

MEASURING AND

GRAPHING ACTIVITIES

Measuring is an important

life skill. Give kids real life expe-

riences to help them gain a bet-

ter understanding of measure-

ment. When graphing, children

Nov/Dec 2001 C OPYCAT

build on their comparison skills

and through visualization are

able to analyze their findings.

Hay

You’ll need a yardstick, pen-

cils, and slips of paper at this

center. Add a sign to a bale of

hay that reads, “Measure Me!

How long am I? How wide am I?

How tall am I?” If your children

are not ready to measure with a

yardstick, have them use their

hand as a measuring unit (How

many hands high am I?) or use

an ear of Indian corn as the

measuring unit (How many cobs

long am I?).

Leaves

Provide a ruler and a collec-

tion of different kinds and sizes

of leaves that have been num-

bered. Leaves that measure

evenly in inches will make mea-

suring easier for the children.

Post a sign, “How wide is each

leaf?” Instruct students to mea-

sure each numbered leaf and

record its width on the “Leaf

Measure” reproducible provided

by coloring in the boxes that

indicate the number of inches so

that the results appear as a

graph.

Pumpkins

Gather several pumpkins

that have been numbered and

provide a tape for measuring.

Pumpkins that measure evenly

in inches will make measuring

easier for the children or indicate

that the pumpkin can be mea-

sured to the nearest inch. Post a

sign— “Measure each pumpkin!”

Instruct kids to measure each

pumpkin and record their

answer on the “Pumpkin

Measure” reproducible provided.

By coloring in the boxes that

indicate the

number

of inches,

children

will be

graphing

their

results.

WEIGHING AND

BALANCING ACTIVITIES

Give kids additional practice

with life skills as they weigh and

balance in the Harvest Market.

Pumpkins

Place a scale (a digital bath-

room scale that measures to

tenths works well) and a variety

of numbered pumpkins on a

table with a sign, “How much

does each pumpkins weigh?”

Have kids practice weighing each

pumpkin and recording its

weight next to the number of the

pumpkin on the “Weigh the

Pumpkins!” reproducible.

kinseeds, balance a bag of corn

kernels and a bag of candy corn,

balance twelve acorns and six

walnuts or balance a bag of pop-

corn and ten leaves.

JUST FUN

Add some fun to your

Harvest Market by including a

couple of centers for creating.

Nature Mobile

Fill a box with string, tape,

leaves, twigs, sticks, pine cones,

nuts, etc. Add the sign, “Create a

Nature Mobile!”

Make a

sample

mobile by

hanging

items on a

string and

balancing

them on a

stick.

Encourage

creativity as

kids make fall

nature mobiles that

they can take home and enjoy.

Apples

Provide a variety of apples,

arranging them in three different

baskets or containers (small,

medium, large), a scale, and a

reproducible on which children

can record answers. Add the

sign, “Weigh the Apples!” Give

kids practice weighing apples by

asking them to follow directions

on the sheet.

4 small apples = __ pounds

3 medium apples = __ pounds

2 large apples + 2 small apples = __ pounds

Seed Shaker

Provide a stack of bathroom-

sized cups, masking tape, per-

manent markers, pumpkin

or sunflower

seeds, and a

sign that

reads, “Make a

seed shaker!”

Ask kids to

read the follow-

ing instructions

before creating

their shaker.

1. Experiment with the number

of seeds you will need to make

a shaker.

2. Count out the seeds and place

them in a cup.

3. Place another cup over the top

of the first cup and tape them

together.

4. Use colored markers to make

designs on your seed shaker.

5. Practice making a rhythm with

the seed shaker.

Balance It

If you have a balance scale

available, try this activity. Set up

the scale and a collection of fall

products such as pumpkinseeds,

corn kernels, candy corn, pop-

corn, acorns, walnuts, etc. Make

balancing easier by placing small

items such as candy corn,

acorns, nuts, or seeds in bags

(for example, 8 oz. candy corn).

Add the sign, “Balance the

scale!” Challenge students to

balance the scales and suggest

combinations…balance a bag of

corn kernels and a bag of pump-

C OPYCAT Nov/Dec 2001

How Many

Pumpkinseeds?

How Many

Pumpkinseeds?

How many seeds do you think

are in the

small

pumpkin?

How many seeds do you think

are in the

large

pumpkin?

Write your estimate inside the pumpkin.

Name

Comparing Pumpkins

Do you think all pumpkins have the same number of seeds? Yes No

Why?

Do small pumpkins have small seeds? Yes No

Do big pumpkins have big seeds? Yes No

Name

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