Description

Students explore sampling techniques that are used to collect data. Students also practice finding mean, median, and mode of a set of data. Finally, students determine appropriate measures of central tendency for a situation.

Materials

-Summary Sheet of Instruction for Statistical Specimens (See page 1 of Attached File)
-Finding the Mean, Median, and Mode of a Set of Data (See pages 2-3 of Attached File)
-Answer Key: Finding the Mean, Median, and Mode of a Set of Data (See page 4 of Attached File)
-Determining Appropriate Measures of Central Tendency (See page 3 of Attached File)
-Answer Key: Determining Appropriate Measures of Central Tendency (See pages 4-5 of Attached File)
-Scenarios Using Different Sampling Techniques (See pages 5-6 of Attached File)
-Answer Key: Scenarios Using Different Sampling Techniques (See pages 7-8 of Attached File)
-The following site is a Student Web Lesson found on the Beacon site. This lesson allows students the opportunity to practice finding the mean, median, and mode of a data set. Using it is optional, but highly recommended.
-Student Web Lesson: All That Data!
-All That Data! (Student Web Lesson-printable version) (See pages 1-5 of Attached File)
-Data Detective Diary (used throughout the Unit Plan: Statistical Sleuths)
-Classroom display board (Examples: overhead projector, chart paper, or chalk board)
-Corresponding writing device (example-Vis--Vis)
-Blank transparency film for copy machines or printers
-The American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition, Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000, page 644
-Access to a computer lab or a single computer with presentation capabilities and Internet access

Procedures

Prerequisite: The student understands fractions (parts to the whole) and how to convert a fraction to a percentage. These concepts will be utilized in the construction of a circle graph.

Part I:
1. REVIEW: Review misconceptions from activities, such as Data Display Practice in the lesson, The Guise of a Graph Gumshoe. Return assessed Data Display Practice worksheets to students. Remind students that they will take the summative assessment in three days.

2. NEW MATERIAL: Use overhead transparency of Finding the Mean, Median, and Mode of a Set of Data. (See pages 2-3 of the Attached File.) For whole class instruction, write the correct responses for a, b, and c. Model how to find the mean, median, and mode for students. Most students have successfully found the mean, median, and mode for several years. Use your own discretion and/or the diagnostic assessment to determine your students' needs. This serves as formative assessment for MA.E.1.3.2.8.1.

3. Option #1: Provide a copy of All That Data! (a Student Web Lesson, printable version) for each student. (See pages 1-5 of the Attached File.) Instruct students to write their responses on their copy of All That Data! (Student Web Lesson, printable version) before using the Student Web Lesson as an instructional model. Option #2: Create a transparency of All That Data! (a Student Web Lesson, printable version) to use for a whole class discussion. This serves as formative assessment for MA.E.1.3.2.8.1.

4. After all students complete All That Data! (Student Web Lesson, printable version), either Option #1 or #2, use the actual online Student Web Lesson All That Data! as an instructional model. (See the Weblinks section of this document for the specific Web address.) Demonstrate the use of the Web lesson page by page on an Internet accessible computer/TV presentation cart. In this lesson, students review a group of committee members' survey results and how they displayed their data in order to identify the range, mean, median, and mode of their individual and collective data results.

5. Provide a class discussion at the end of each Web page. Come to a consensus about the best answer for each field during the discussion. Type in the most popular answers from the class discussion in each field of the Web lesson and further discuss the computer's responses as a whole class. The program will offer hints if the answer is not correct, and it will offer congratulations if you are right. If you have a computer lab or access to several computers, you may choose to allow students to complete the Student Web Lesson, All That Data! individually or in groups of two students.

6. If using Option #1, when complete, ask students to turn in their answers for All That Data! (Student Web Lesson, printable version). Provide formative feedback for each student and offer more instruction to students who had difficulty with any part of this lesson.

Part II:
7. Special Note: Review misconceptions that students may have had from Part I of this lesson. Remind students the summative assessment is in two days. Use overhead transparency of Determining Appropriate Measures of Central Tendency. (See page 15 of the Attached File.) For whole class instruction, model how to find the mean, median, and mode for students. After discussing each response with students, write the correct responses for 1a, b, and c. Also, show students how to respond to #2. (See Answer Key to Determining Appropriate Measures of Central Tendency on page 16 of the Attached File.) If students need additional practice, create other problems like this one for students. This serves as formative assessment for MA.E.1.3.2.8.3.

8. Write this entry in an area that all students can see, Detective Diary Entry #9: Define each of the following sampling techniques: random, systematic, and stratified. Also define when a sample can be biased. Ask students to include as much specific information as possible. This serves as formative assessment for MA.E.3.3.2.8.3 and MA.E.3.3.2.8.4. This activity serves as a review for students. They were already taught these techniques in the lesson, Sampling Snoops. (See Web Links) The definitions for each of these sampling techniques is in Vocabulary for Statistical Sleuths. (See Unit Plan Attached File. Further information is available in Extensions.)

9. Option #1: Provide each student with a copy of the activity, Scenarios Using Different Sampling Techniques. (See Attached File.) Students complete this activity. Use Answer Key to Scenarios Using Different Sampling Techniques to assess the best choice for each question. (See Attached File.) Also, assess students' responses based on completeness using the criteria in the Long-Answer Question Rubric. (See Unit Plan Attached File. Further information is available in Extensions.)
Option #2: Read the sampling Scenarios aloud and discuss the answers as a class. As a more individual assessment, have students verbally create an example of one type of sampling and pose it to a partner to see if they agreed that it was a good example. This serves as formative assessment for MA.E.3.3.2.8.3 and MA.E.3.3.2.8.4.

Part III:
10. Special Note: Remind students that the summative assessment is tomorrow. Review all concepts from the Unit Plan: Statistical Sleuths. Use Vocabulary for Statistical Sleuths as your guide during review. (See Unit Plan Attached File. Further information is available in Extensions.) One reason this file is helpful for review is because the summative assessment will use the same terminology. See the Teacher Preparation section of this document for suggestions on how to conduct the review.

11. Offer as many practice opportunities as possible for students before administering the summative assessment for the Unit Plan: Statistical Sleuths.

Extensions

1. Here are optional standards that could be integrated into this activity:
-Determines the mean, median, and mode and range of a set of real-world data using appropriate technology (MA.E.1.3.3.8.1.).
-Organizes, creates graphs, and analyzes a set of real-world data using appropriate technology (MA.E.1.3.3.8.2.).

2. Click here to view the Beacon Unit Plan associated with this lesson. See Attached Files to download the Unit Plan Overview, Unit Assessments, and other associated files.

3. This lesson plan was written as part of the Unit Plan: Statistical Sleuths. It is the fourth and final lesson plan in the series.

4. Allow students to peerassess each other's diary entries if they are at a point where they can assess the content accurately enough to provide effective feedback.

Attached Files

Statistical Specimens Attached File     File Extension: pdf