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Total Duration:
31 to 60 Minutes
Materials and Resources:
Paper Pencil Post-It Notes Class bar graph
Technology Resources Needed:
Computers
Internet
Background/Preparation:
Students should have been previously taught how to calculate the mean, median, mode, and range. Review the meaning of these terms.
Students should have created a bar graph.
Before:
1. Students will use individual computers to research the ten-day forecast for their city (see website below). Depending on the availability of printers, students can either print the ten-day forecast or copy it into their math notebook.
2. Students will use the numbers collected in their "Before" activity and find the mean, median, mode, and range of the forecast.
3. After finding the required information, students will receive a post-it note. They will be given 2 minutes to turn and talk with a partner about what this data means and how they can utilize it to make inferences about the upcoming weather in their area.
4. Each student will write the temperature they predict will come on the following day and why they predict this will be the temperature.
After:
5. Students will place their post-it notes on a class bar graph. (Teacher could also use the following Bar Graph for added technology in the lesson plan.)
6. Host a class discussion about the most common inferences and why the class thinks this temperature was a common prediction.
Closure:
7. Students will add their prediction to the 10-day forecast and recalculate the mean, median, and mode to observe what happens when another number is added to data collection.
Assessment Strategies
Students will be informally assessed on the mean, median, mode, and range that was calculated from the ten day forecast numbers (all should have the same numbers if they researched the city they are in).
Acceleration:
The class can make predictions about the next week's weather based on their calculations.
Intervention:
Teacher may assign peer tutors to help those students who may struggle with this assignment.
View the Special Education resources for
instructional guidance in providing modifications and adaptations
for students with significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for the Alabama Alternate Assessment.