Ask students to discuss the types of things they might see at a post office. Brainstorm a class list on the chalkboard or overhead. For example, students might mention:
- Signs with postal rates (prices for stamps, Priority Mail, extra services, etc.)
- Mailing supplies (boxes, envelopes, padded envelopes, tubes, etc.)
- Stamps for collectors
- Forms for different types of mailing (certified mail, registered mail, etc.)
Students should visit the website of the United States Postal Service. Give them time to explore the site. Using the list of items brainstormed at the start of the lesson, have students locate information on some of those items (for example, postal rates). Students should complete the following activities.
Students could determine the cost of mailing 1,000 postcards. Students should locate the cost of mailing a postcard and use that to determine the total amount. Students may need to consider the following before proceeding:
- postcards mailed within the United States will have a different postal rate than postcards mailed outside the United States
- postcards have certain minimum and maximum size requirements (particularly width and length)
Similarly, students could determine the cost of mailing 1,000 letters. (Once again, you may need to discuss destination, i.e. U.S. and International, as well as size requirements.) As a class, discuss the advantages to bulk rate mailings and what this means.
Challenge the students to tell how numbers could be used to:
- describe the size of a group of pieces of mail in a bulk mailing:
numbers less than 100
between 100 and 1,000
between 1,000 and 10000
or greater than 10000
- identify locations--ZIP codes, street numbers on addresses
- represent fractions, particularly on mailing requirements (namely length and width of letters and packages)
- express measurements--weight, time for mailing, money (cost of postage), and so on
