Project-Based Math in the Primary Classroom

Project-based math in the primary classroom: a wingspan scatterplot with mean, median, mode calculations as part of third and fourth grade’s Birds of Cutchogue study.

The mathematics program at PCS incorporates explicit whole-class instruction, daily small group work, independent skill practice, and inquiry based explorations woven through the thematic Integrated Unit to foster conceptual mathematical understanding and develop skill facility and fluency.

Mathematics work during the thematic Integrated Unit, like this scatterplot, is focused on student-led projects and encourages logical reasoning and flexible mathematic thinking while providing meaningful context and opportunities for real-world application.

Third and fourth graders created a wingspan scatterplot graph using the means, medians and modes they calculated during their math blocks. Third and fourth graders are focused on Cutchogue’s bird community and habitat as part of their Integrated Unit study this trimester, and this week students created a scatterplot depicting the wingspan and length of their focus birds. During math blocks, students have stayed bird-focused, using their growing knowledge of decimals to help answer questions about the data they’ve collected such as the mean, median, and mode wingspans.