Lesson plan
How Much is a Million?
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to determine how large one million is and create a guided story to represent one million items.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
- Gather the students in a group and ask them to think about how much one million is.
- Allow students to discuss it as a class.
- Tell students that one million is one thousand thousands, and every one of those thousands is ten hundreds.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling
(15 minutes)- Read How Much is a Million? by David M. Schwartz.
- Have students brainstorm ideas of things they could have one million of.
- Ask students to think about what they would do with these items.
- Have students pair and share their ideas.
Guided Practice
(5 minutes)- Pass out the If I Had a Million worksheet.
- Go over the worksheet with the class, explaining how to fill it in.
- Give an example of what you might like one million of. Example: If I had a million cats I would teach them how to fetch and dance. And then, I would open a cat circus, the first in the world, for all my friends to see. I would give Sasha 15 cats and she would open a cat cafe so people who didn't have cats could come and play.
- Let the kids know that this can be fun and silly, and that you want them to imagine how much one million is while doing this activity.
Independent working time
(15 minutes)- Allow students to collaborate to get their creative juices flowing. Tell students that, though they can help each other brainstorm, their topics for the worksheets need to be different.
- Walk around the room to keep students on task and to answer any questions students may have.
Differentiation
- Enrichment: Students who need more of a challenge can create more than one story, or extend their story beyond the worksheet.
- Support: Those who need extra help may buddy up with another student to help them talk through ideas.
Assessment
(5 minutes)- Read through students' stories to assess their understanding of how much one million is.
Review and closing
(5 minutes)- Allow students to share their stories with the class.
- Ask students whether or not they understand how much one million is. Take questions or comments from students.
Related learning resources
How Much is a Million?
Lesson plan
How Much is a Million?
One million is a hard number for young children to grasp. This lesson will help students understand how large of a number one million is and what is represents.
3rd grade
Math
Lesson plan
Just a Minute
Lesson plan
Just a Minute
Help your students learn how long a minute is with this lesson that shows them how the length of a minute can appear to change depending on the activity, all while putting their time estimation skills
3rd grade
Math
Lesson plan
Fractions as Part of a Whole
Lesson plan
Fractions as Part of a Whole
In this lesson, students will learn how to understand that a fraction is a number that describes the relationship between a part and a whole.
3rd grade
Math
Lesson plan
Jump-A-Round
Lesson plan
Jump-A-Round
Get your students moving as they learn how to round whole numbers.
3rd grade
Math
Lesson plan
