I found this week's math class to be just as exciting and engaging as the Geometry and Spatial Sense lesson. During this week's math class, we explored PROBABILITY!
This lesson is very fun for me because there's just so much you can do with the probability unit. It can range from questionnaires, playing games of chance, etc. During this week, we had two presentations on probability.
Unfortunately, I was unable to take any photographs so I will explain what each group did.
Group One:
The colleagues distributed a handful of paper clips to each group and had a contest on who could make the longest link in one minute. Once the activity was over, they collected data from the students ("How many paper clips were you able to link together?") and made a list of the data collected.
Once this was done, they asked the students to organize the numbers in order and find the mean, median, and mode. This activity was really fun because I find any competitive activity to be exciting. With the use of manipulatives, their lesson was engaging and quite enjoyable.
Group Two:
The colleagues distributed some signs at each table that stated: Impossible, likely, unlikely, etc. and asked a series of questions ("What are the chances of the sun rising tomorrow? Why?"). We were to hold up signs that we believed to be correct and justify our answers.
I find probability to be an exciting unit because there's a hundred different types of activities to integrate into the lesson. This can include the use of manipulatives, signs, or spinning wheels.
In addition to this, the teacher can integrate technology into the lesson and use online dice that will draw random numbers (SKUNK). I've also included a video on how students can learn to play SKUNK in the classroom.
I found this anchor chart on Pinterest and I think it is extremely helpful for students. It can be used in the classroom to help students identify what each probability means. It's most helpful when the probabilities relate to personal experiences.
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