How much is a million

SCIENCE CONCEPT:

Flying animals have been on Earth for millions of years. The numerical concepts of time and what is a million will be introduced to the student.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will be introduced to the concept of a million using manipulatives and critical thinking skills.

OVERVIEW:

Before students can begin to imagine what types of flying creatures were around " millions of years ago", they need to have a grasp of how much is a million. This activity and its various adaptations allows the students to comprehend the concept of a million via hands-on math explorations. Afterwards, the student should realize that a million years ago was quite a long time ago-even past the lifetime of their immediate families.

PREPARATION TIME:

0 minutes.

LESSON TIME:

30 minutes.

TEACHER PREP:

Photocopy pattern onto colored paper.
Purchase rice.

WORDS TO KNOW:

million

box

TEACHER TEXT:

Although mechanical flight, as we know it today, has been in existence for less than 100 years, natural flight has existed for millions of years. Long before man appeared on this planet, leaves and seeds moved through the air in what appeared to be flight. Later, insects, dinosaurs, birds and bats achieved true flight.

Plant life has been "flying" for millions of years. Leaves seem to take on a life of their own when caught up by the wind and float through the air before falling to the ground. As seeds disperse to find the perfect growing places they too seem to "fly" with the wind.

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Last modified: Sun Nov 16 11:30:02 PST 1997