Download TEKS Lesson Plan/Unit Plan - Texarkana Independent School District

Focus Plan
Texarkana Independent School District
GRADING
PERIOD:
Teacher:
3rd Six Weeks
PLAN CODE:
Tipton
Course/subject:
Mathematics
Grade(s):
8
Time allotted
for instruction:
1 – 1 ½ hours
Title:
Probability and the Alphabet
Lesson TOPIC:
Probability, statistics
TAKS Objective:
Objective 5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of
probability and statistics.
FoCUS TEKS and
Student Expectation:
(11) Probability and statistics. The student applies concepts of
theoretical and experimental probability to make predictions. The
student is expected to:
(B) use theoretical probabilities and experimental results to make
predictions and decisions
(11) Probability and statistics. The student applies concepts of
theoretical and experimental probability to make predictions. The
student is expected to:
(C) select and use different models to simulate an event
Supporting TEKS and
Student Expectations:
Concepts
Probability
Statistics
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations/Principles
The student will understand that
Probability is the chance that some event will happen. It is the ratio of the
number of ways a certain event can occur to the number of possible
outcomes.
Statistics is the branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, organizing,
and analyzing data.
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District
I.
Sequence of Activities (Instructional Strategies)
A.
Focus/connections
Prior to this lesson, you will need enough newspaper articles (that will be written on) for every other
student in your class.
Introduction: Tell the class that today you are going to play hangman. Play a short game of hangman
with the class.
B.
Instructional activities
(demonstrations, lectures, examples, hands-on experiences, role play, active
learning experience, art, music, modeling, discussion, reading, listening, viewing,
etc.)
Ask the class: “Would it be good to always pick a Q when playing this game?” (Class should say no.)
Have several volunteers tell why they would not pick a Q. Explain to the class that statistics and
probability play an important part in our lives and are particularly useful in helping make wise decisions.
Ask students how many letters are in the alphabet. Next ask whether there are some letters in the
alphabet that are used more than others. Now explain that the probability of an outcome for a particular
event is a number telling us how likely a particular outcome is to occur. This number is the ratio of the
number of ways the outcome may occur to the number of total possible outcomes for the event.
Probability is usually expressed as a fraction or decimal. Since the number of ways a certain outcome
may occur is always smaller or equal to the total number of outcomes, the probability of an event is some
number from 0 through 1. Now give the class the following example: suppose there are 10 balls in a
bucket numbered as follows: 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, and 6. A single ball is randomly chosen from the
bucket. What is the probability of drawing a ball numbered 1? Explain to the class that there are 2 ways
to draw a 1, since there are two balls numbered 1. The total possible number of outcomes is 10, since
there are 10 balls. The probability of drawing a 1 is the ratio 2/10 = 1/5. Next give the class this example:
suppose a card is drawn at random from a regular deck of 52 cards. What is the probability that the card
is an ace? Explain to the class that there are 4 different ways that the card can be an ace, since 4 of the
52 cards are aces. There are 52 different total outcomes, one for each card in the deck. The probability of
drawing an ace is the ratio 4/52 = 1/13.
C.
Guided activity or strategy
After students have an understanding of probability, have them get into pairs. Each pair will need one
article from the newspaper and an Alphabet Study Worksheet. Tell the pairs to start at the beginning of
their article and tally the letters until 200 letters are counted. Students will record their answers on the
worksheet provided. One student may call out and the other may tally. Let the students work for about 7
minutes and then ask them to stop. After they have stopped counting, have the students figure the
percentage of probability of finding each letter. Have students compare and contrast their results. Ask:
“Were there any discrepancies?” , “Were there any similarities”. Students will need to justify their
answers.
D.
Accommodations/modifications
Students requiring modifications may work with a peer during the guided activity.
E.
Enrichment
Students requiring enrichment may peer tutor/reteach during the guided activity.
II.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
A.
Description
Students will complete the Probability Worksheet independently.
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District
iii.
B.
Accommodations/modifications
C.
Enrichment
Assessment of Activities
A.
Description
Individual student grades may be taken on the Probability Worksheet.
B.
Rubrics/grading criteria
Grades may be taken based on the Probability Worksheet Answer Key and Grading Rubric.
C.
Accommodations/modifications
D.
Enrichment
E.
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IV.
Sample discussion questions
How is probability used in the real-world?
Why is it important to know how to make predictions?
TAKS Preparation
A.
Transition to TAKS context
The teacher will lead the students in a discussion of how probability problems may look in test format by
placing the following TAKS questions on the overhead/board.
B.
Sample TAKS questions
1. Fidel tosses four fair coins. What is the probability that all four coins will land heads up?
A. 1/16
B. 1/8
C. 1/4
D. 1/2
2. A spinner and a fair number cube are used in a game. The spinner has an equal chance of landing on
1 of 4 colors: red, purple, blue, or green. The faces of the cube are labeled 1 through 6. What is the
probability of a player spinning the color red and then rolling a 5 or 6?
F. 3/10
G. 1/8
H. 1/12
J. 1/24
V.
Key Vocabulary
Probability, statistics
VI.
Resources
A.
Textbook
Glencoe Mathematics ~ Applications and Connections
Chapter 6: Exploring Number Patterns
 Simple Events, pp. 253-256
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District
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B.
Supplementary materials
Alphabet Study Worksheet
Probability Worksheet
Probability Worksheet Answer Key and Grading Rubric
C.
Technology
Students may be taken to the computer lab to work with the probability websites below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/fish.html
http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol6/challenge_vol6.html
http://nces.ed.gov/NCESKids/Probability/
VII.
follow up activities
(reteaching, cross-curricular support, technology activities, next lesson in sequence, etc.)
Have students brainstorm how statistics and probability can help them in their daily lives. Discuss how
often different individuals can come up with different statistics and how this information would impact a
decision. You could also have students predict what some of the most common words in writing are and
why.
VIII.
Teacher Notes
If you have a VCR in your classroom, you might want to record a segment of Wheel of Fortune to show at
the beginning of class. This would be a great introduction to this lesson.
 Division of Curriculum and Instruction  School Improvement Department  Texarkana Independent School District