Dawe School Students Tackle Math Boot Camp

students in Stoughton went through a Math Boot Camp last week, with the culminating activity taking place last Thursday morning when all classes from kindergarten through fifth grade circled the building to determine its perimeter, using themselves as a nonstandard unit of measure. 

Braving the cold weather, the students counted off, making their way around what became a large, continuous chain of students.

It took 345 Dawe students to circle the perimeter of the rectangular-shaped school.

The various classes had to estimate how many students it would take to complete this task and explain how they came up with their estimate. 

Mrs. Murphy's fourth grade class won the challenge, estimating it would take 338 students. The fourth graders have 17 students in the class and lined up all 17 to see what a group of that size would look like. They based their estimate on how many groups of 17 students it would take to surround the four sides of the building.

Their method got them within seven of the actual total.

Dawe School Principal David Barner walked around the perimeter of the school on April 5, overseeing the counting of the students. Deputy Superintendent of Schools was also on hand to observe the activity.

As the students waited to be counted, some teachers led their classes in chanting math facts or other math-related songs. 

This week-long math boot camp was an opportunity for students to experience Math across the curriculum through a series of engaging lessons, activities and games.