C2.1 Identify quantities that can change and quantities that always remain the same in real-life contexts.

Activity 1: Quantities that Change and Do Not Change


Have students talk with an adult at home to identify quantities in their environment that change and quantities in their environment that do not change.

The next day, group students into pairs to discuss their ideas.

Pool the results and record the points discussed in a table.

Example

Quantity that Changes

Quantity that Does Not Change

  • number of minutes to play outside
  • number of lost teeth
  • number of steps taken in a day
  • sunset time
  • ...
  • number of fingers
  • number of days in a week
  • number of vertices on a cube
  • ...

Based on the examples students have found, create a group book with two sections: quantities that change and quantities that do not change.

Invite each student to create a page or two of the book.

Laminate the pages and assemble the book.

Encourage students to take turns bringing the book home.

Activity 2: Does the Quantity Change or Not?


Give each student in the class two different coloured cards; for example, give each student a red card and a yellow card. Assign a meaning to each colour; for example, red symbolizes a quantity that does not change, yellow symbolizes a quantity that changes. Give a series of quantities found in everyday life. After each one, students will have to raise the card depending on whether the quantity changes or not.

Examples of quantities found in everyday life:

  • the age of a person;
  • the number of books in a section of the library;
  • the distance from the beginning to the end of the school corridor;
  • the number of bricks on one of the classroom walls;
  • the number of posters on one wall of the classroom;
  • the amount of hair on our heads;
  • the amount of money in a piggy bank.