Christi O'Rear - Probability with Number Cubes

Probability with Number Cubes

PEPE Lesson Plan Format

(Alabama Professional Education Personnel Evaluation Program)

Written by: Christi O’Rear, Athens State University (Spring 2002)

corear@aol.com

Graphics, Editing, and Formatting by: Dr. Beth McCulloch Vinson

I. Preparing (to plan for instruction)

Materials:

Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics, page 27, numbers 49-53, children’s literature: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, number cubes, pencil, tally charts, and Elmo visual presenter.

Objectives: The students will:

(Analysis) analyze information collected from real-life situations,

(Application) apply inquiry skills,

(Application) make predictions from a sampling,

(Application) predict outcomes of experiments, and

(Application) explore probability through experimentation.

Grade Level: second

II. Orienting (to establish purpose, build background, sustain motivation, and provide directions)

· Anticipatory Set: The teacher will say, “Today we will learn about probability by taking chances and predicting outcomes.” The teacher will read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The teacher will explain how we use probability every day. An example would be watching the weather forecast on the television and deciding whether or not to bring an umbrella.

· Purpose: The teacher will say, “The purpose of this lesson is to begin learning the basic principles of probability using number cubes.”

· Connection to previous learning/Build background knowledge: The teacher will say, “I know that you have all played with dice while playing games like Candyland, Aggravation, Yahtzee, and Monopoly. Today we will use number cubes to talk about probability.”

III. Presenting (to use sequential direct instruction)

· Teaching Procedures:

· The teacher will define “probability.” The teacher will say, “Probability is the likelihood that something will happen.”

· The teacher will show the dice to the students and explain that we will call them number cubes for mathematics class.

· The teacher will say, “Do you think it is likely that I could roll this number cube and get the number three?”

· The teacher will explain that since there are six sides to a die, and there is only one number on each side, the probability that I will roll a three or any other number is 1/6^th of the time.

· The teacher will pass out tally sheets.

· The teacher will have a student roll the number cube and make a tally mark for number he or she rolled.

· The teacher will then have the students take turns so that the number cube is rolled for a total of 6 times.

· The teacher will chart the final data to determine the results of all the rolls.

· The teacher will ask, “Were these the results you expected? If not, why?”

· The teacher will explain that you will not always get the expected results because you are taking a chance.

IV. Practicing and Summarizing (to reinforce and extend ideas)

· Review:

· (Application) The teacher will call on volunteers to explain why the results should indicate that each number was rolled 1/6^th of the time.

· (Application) The teacher will say, “Why are the results sometimes not what we expect?”

· (Application) The teacher will say, “How do we use probability in our life?”

· Guided Practice:

· The teacher will ask students what they think the probable results will be when we roll the number cubes 12 times?

· The teacher will ask volunteers to roll the number cube 12 times.

· The teacher will ask the students if the results were what they predicted.

· Independent Practice:

· The teacher will allow students to conduct another experiment rolling the number cube 18 times.

· The teacher will have students write their predictions on their charts before they begin.

· The teacher will ask volunteers to share their results.

Summarizing:

· The teacher will say, “Today we learned about probability using a number cube. I want everyone to go home and find a different item besides a number cube that you can use to conduct a probability experiment. Bring them to class tomorrow so that we can conduct more probability experiments.”

V. Assessment: (to check for attainment of objectives)

The teacher will use a checklist to assess the independent practice activities. The checklist will have the objectives listed as column headings. Checks and minuses will be used to determine attainment. For enrichment, those students will be instructed to use two number cubes for their experiments. For remediation, those students will be instructed to use coins with the possibility of heads or tails.