By Jane Watson and Noleine Fitzallen, University of Tasmania This article is based on professional learning devised to help Australian middle-school teachers build an appreciation for randomness before content related to sampling and variables are introduced in later years. It is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation teachers, teacher educators, and professional learning … [Read more...] about Building Understanding of Randomness from Ideas About Variation and Expectation
6-8
A Technology Twist on a Classic Statistics Lesson
By Shelly Sheats Harkness, Sarai Hedges, Kim Given In the lesson, “Alphabet Statistics,” described by Marilyn Burns in her 1987 book, A Collection of Math Lessons (from grades 3 through 6), students explore letter-of-the-alphabet frequency of usage in print material. Over the years, Shelly Sheats Harkness used an adaptation of this lesson several times with middle-school … [Read more...] about A Technology Twist on a Classic Statistics Lesson
Lesson Plan: Who Has the Longest First Name?
This investigation was originally published in Bridging the Gap Between Common Core State Standards and Teaching Statistics by Pat Hopfensperger, Tim Jacobbe, Deborah Lurie, and Jerry Moreno. (Grade 6 – Common Core State Standards: 6.SP.1-4) This investigation is based on one found in the Appendix for Level A in Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Who Has the Longest First Name?
Lesson Plan: Can You Roll Your Tongue?
This investigation was originally published in Bridging the Gap Between Common Core State Standards and Teaching Statistics by Pat Hopfensperger, Tim Jacobbe, Deborah Lurie, and Jerry Moreno. (Grade 6 & 8 – Common Core State Standards: 6.RP.3C, 6.SP.3, 8.SP.4) This investigation focuses on students examining an association between two categorical variables. Specifically, … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Can You Roll Your Tongue?
ASA and New York Times Partner to Create ‘What’s Going On in This Graph?’
By Sharon Hessney, Donna LaLonde, and Rebecca Nichols In this column, we want to highlight an exciting new partnership between The New York Times Learning Network and the American Statistical Association. Fifteen years ago, The New York Times started the Learning Network—a free, online feature that provides materials to help teachers use the newspaper … [Read more...] about ASA and New York Times Partner to Create ‘What’s Going On in This Graph?’
Lesson Plan: How Far Can You Jump?
This investigation was originally published in Bridging the Gap Between Common Core State Standards and Teaching Statistics created by Pat Hopfensperger, Tim Jacobbe, Deborah Lurie, and Jerry Moreno. (Grade 6 – Common Core State Standards: 6.SP.1-5) This investigation focuses on students conducting a comparative experiment to explore the effect a fixed target will have on … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: How Far Can You Jump?
Lesson Plan: How Tall Were the Ancestors of Laetoli?
This investigation was originally published in Bridging the Gap Between Common Core State Standards and Teaching Statistics by Pat Hopfensperger, Tim Jacobbe, Deborah Lurie, and Jerry Moreno. (Grade 8 – Common Core State Standard 8.SP.1) The focus of this investigation is to look for and measure the degree of any relationship between two quantitative variables, specifically … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: How Tall Were the Ancestors of Laetoli?
Lesson Plan: How Fast Are You?
By Maryann Huey, Alana Linde, Dan Aalbers (Grades 6-8, 9-12+) In this lesson, published in August 2017, each student collects 20 reaction-time data values using an online tool for testing reaction times to a visual stimulus. Students display and analyze data via a free online tool, Tuva. Students first characterize their own reaction times, and then compare the results … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: How Fast Are You?
Lesson Plan: Are Female Hurricanes Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes?
By Mary Richardson (Grades 6-8, 9-12+) Originally published in June of 2014, this lesson uses a data set partially discussed in the article "Female Hurricanes Are Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes," written by Kiju Junga, Sharon Shavitta, Madhu Viswanathana, and Joseph M. Hilbed. The data set contains archival data on actual fatalities caused by hurricanes in the United States … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: Are Female Hurricanes Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes?
Lesson Plan: First Day Statistics Activity—Grouping Qualitative Data
By R.B. Campbell (Grades 6-8, 9-12+) This activity, published in April of 2014, provides a foundation for distinguishing between qualitative (categorical) and quantitative data and how they can be summarized and analyzed (a topic encountered early in a statistics course). This lesson illustrates how categorical data can be grouped to make the data comprehensible. It also … [Read more...] about Lesson Plan: First Day Statistics Activity—Grouping Qualitative Data