Piles of Paper

Goal: Track of how much paper the group uses in a week

1. Introduce the activity

Decide on a place to pile up scrap paper for a week, then explain:

When we use paper and don’t need it any more, we throw it out or recycle it. We’re going to see how much we gather if we pile it up for a week. 

How high do you think the pile will be at the end of the week? As high as your head? Up to the ceiling?

Record children’s predictions.

 

2. Keep track

Every day for a week, children contribute their used paper to the pile. Call the group together to measure the height of the pile each day.

 

3. How much paper over time?

At the end of the week, children look over their predictions and compare them with the final pile height. Prompt discussion with questions such as:

Did we collect as much paper as you thought?

If we keep collecting paper, how much would we have at the end of next week? Why do you think so?

How much would we have in a month (or a year)? Would the pile be up to the ceiling? Higher than the building?

On which day did we collect the most paper? The least?

 

Variations

Would It Be Different? (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Repeat the activity at a different time of the year or with a different group, and then compare the data. For instance, do we use more paper in the winter, when we’re less likely to be outside?

Stacking Box (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Children collect a recyclable material that the group uses regularly, such as cracker boxes or paper towel rolls. Children predict the size of the collection that they’ll have by the end of a month: If we lay the boxes end to end, will they span the room? Will they stretch down the hallway? At the end of the month, children test out their predictions.

 

Rain Gauge (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Children make a rain gauge by marking quarter inches on the outside of a clear plastic container. They secure it outside in an open area where it will collect water in the rain. Children predict how many inches of rain will fall over a certain period. They check the cup periodically to find out.  

 

Books and Other Resources

Book ideas to come!

 

Spotlight

Rate of Change

Rate is measured in many ways. For cars, it’s typically in miles per hour, for runners on a treadmill, it’s feet per minute, and for piles of paper in this activity, it’s inches per day.  Sometimes rate is constant: when a car is traveling at a steady 50 miles per hour or when a pile increases by 5 inches each day. Rates can also vary: the paper pile may grow several inches on the day of a drawing project; it may not change at all on the day of a field trip.

As children measure the paper pile day by day, they begin to judge whether its growth represents a fast, slow, or steady rate of change—an understanding that will be important when they study algebra and calculus.

Connections

Predicting growth

Health care workers use growth charts to assess and make predictions about children’s height and weight. These charts, based on data from many studies, show average or typical growth patterns. By comparing a child’s weight gain to a growth chart, a health care worker can determine if a child is developing at a normal rate.

Gardeners make plans based on observations of growth: The tomatoes are growing quickly, so I’ll reserve time to stake them next weekend; at this rate, the peaches will ripen in a few days, so we’d better plan to eat them soon.

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