Alyssa Prats
EME Lesson Plan 4
"Accretion" learning domain
Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to basic level of statistical analysis. This is the first time they will have seen the concepts of mean, median, mode and range. This is also the first time they will be looking over a data set and trying to gain information from it.
Benchmark: MA.6.S.6.1: Determine the measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) and variability (range) for a given set of data.
Grade Level: 6th
Subject Area: Mathematics
Lesson Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1) Understand how numbers from a data set relate to each other
2) Understand the different ways to measure central tendency in a data set
3) Understand how to determine the variability of a data set
Materials:
- Projector
- Computer
- Smart Board & Pen
Activities:
1)As an introduction to this section I will have the students begin with a fun activity. Students will get into pairs, and ask each other certain questions with numerical answers. They will record their partner’s height, shoe size, and how many siblings they have.
2)I will collect all of the information into a chart on my smartboard, with separate charts for each question.
3)I will then introduce the concept of a “mean” and show them how to calculate it, given the first set of data. I will have the student with the height closest to the mean/average to stand up, as an example.
4)To learn the term median, I will have the students arrange themselves in order by their shoe size along the side of the room. We’ll count off one student from each end of the line until we reach the student in the very middle. They have the median shoe size.
5)For the third data set, I will have students get in groups corresponding to how many siblings they have. The group with the most people in it, will represent the “mode”
6)We will then go back through all of these different data sets and determine the “range” or variability for each.
7)I will then use the computer to arrange the data in a few different graphs, to visually show what the results look like and where the number falls on the graph.
Evaluation/Assessment:
For homework, the students will ask ten people a question of their choice that yields a numerical result. It could be the age at which they lost their first tooth, or how many pets they have. The more creative the better! They will organize their data in a charton the computer, and find the mean, median, mode, and range of the data. They will have 4 days to complete this assignment. For students without access to a computer, they can complete the assignment on paper.
The way that this lesson fits the accretion learning domain is that it is relevant and relates to everyday life. The students are encouraged to make connections between the information they have learned and facts about the world around them. For example, sports statistics are examples of mean, median, etc. Anytime they hear a statistic like “The average American…” they will understand what the average is.