Mother’s Day Card Project

Standards Addressed:

8-6.3Use theoretical and experimental probability to make inferences and convincing arguments about an event or events.

Materials:

Hard stock paper 5 1/2” x 8”

Ribbon (optional)

Envelopes (optional)

Calculators (optional)

Worksheets with Mother’s Day Sentence Starters and Mother’s Day and Probability

Directions:

  1. Students will complete the sentences on the Mother’s Day Sentence Starters worksheet.
  2. Edit sentences with students and possibly their ELA teachers.
  3. Students will select their best sentences (approximately 4 to 5) to go onto their Mother’s Day cards.
  4. Students will create their Mother’s Day cards on the computer by following the following steps:
  5. Pull up a blank Microsoft word document.
  6. Go to “File”, and then “Page Set-up”.
  7. Go to the “Margins” tab at the top and set left, right, top, and bottom margins to 1 inch.
  8. Go to the “Paper” tab next, and set the “width” to 5.5 inches and the “height” to 8.0 inches.
  9. Click on the arrow to the right of “Times New Roman” at the top of your document, and choose a style of the font for your letters. Monotype Corsiva is a good font to use if you want fancy letters.
  10. You may add a picture on to your cards. If you want a picture behind your words, then go to “Insert”, then go to “Picture” and click on “Clip Art”. Type in a name of an object that you would like to insert in to your picture, like “flower”. Click on the picture you like best. It will appear over your words, but your words have not disappeared. Next, go to “Format”, click on “Picture”, then go to the “Layout” tab and click on “Picture behind text”. If your picture is too bold, then go to the “Picture” tab at the top and change the color to “washout”.
  11. Save your picture on the computer as “Card/(your name)”.
  12. Place the card stock in the printer and print card.
  13. After printing the card, students will complete the Mother’s Day and Probability worksheet.
  14. Students will sign their cards, place ribbon through the top portion of the cards, and then put cards into envelopes and seal.

Mother’s Day Sentence Starters

What do you call your mother?______

Directions:

Complete each sentence with specific and vivid details.

  1. I love it when you cook______

______.

  1. The best time we shared together was______

______.

  1. You make me feel good about myself when you______

______.

  1. The saddest experience we’ve shared______

______.

  1. When I am sick, you______

______.

  1. I’ll always remember you (doing something)______

______.

  1. My favorite gift from you was______

______.

  1. You encourage me when you______

______.

  1. I loved it when we went to______

______.

Mother’s Day and Probability

Directions:

Below are the theoretical probabilitiesof letters being usedbased on their inclusion from the Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th edition, 1995). Complete the table below. First, determine the total number of times each letter of the alphabet appears on your Mother’s Day card and record it in the third column. Next, determine the totalnumber of letters on your Mother’s Day card by adding up the numbers you just recorded. Then, write the experimental probabilities of your letters as fractions, decimals and percents. After completing the table, answer the questions below.

Letters / Theoretical
Probabilities
as Percents / Number of
Times Used / Experimental Probabilities
as Fractions / Experimental Probabilities
as Decimals / Experimental Probabilities
as Percents
A / 8.5%
B / 2.1%
C / 4.5%
D / 3.4%
E / 11.2%
F / 1.8%
G / 2.5%
H / 3.0%
I / 7.5%
J / 0.2%
K / 1.1%
L / 5.5%
M / 3.0%
N / 6.7%
O / 7.2%
P / 3.2%
Q / 0.2%
R / 7.6%
S / 5.7%
T / 7.0%
U / 3.6%
V / 1.0%
W / 1.3%
X / 0.3%
Y / 1.8%
Z / 0.3%
  1. For each letter, are the experimental and theoretical probabilities the same? ______
  2. Should the experimental and theoretical probabilities be the same? Explain.