EngageNY
Games of Chance and Expected Value 1
There's a strong chance that class members enjoy learning math through engaging games. Scholars analyze games of chance to determine long-term behavior. They learn to calculate expected value to help with this assessment.
EngageNY
Games of Chance and Expected Value 2
Use expected values to analyze games of chance. The 15th installment of a 21-part module has young mathematicians looking at different games involving tickets and deciding which would be the best to play. They calculate expected payoffs...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The Game of SKUNK
Do I stand or do I sit? The class plays a dice game where they must decide to either continue to stand and play or sit down and keep their points. After the game, groups discuss individuals' strategies and see connections to the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Return to Fred's Fun Factory (with 50 Cents)
The penny arcade gets the statistics treatment in this fun probability investigation. A non-standard game of chance is described and then the class is set loose to find missing probabilities, determine common outcomes, and evaluate...
CK-12 Foundation
Conditional Probability: Game Show with Monty
The car is behind door one — no wait, it is behind door three. An interactive allows learners to visualize the Monty Hall problem. Pupils work through the probabilities of choosing the car with their first pick. Next, they determine...
Inside Mathematics
Marble Game
Pupils determine the theoretical probability of winning a game of marbles. Individuals compare the theoretical probability to experimental probability for the same game. They continue on to compare two different probability games.
Curated OER
Chances Are
Upper graders examine the concept of probability. They collect data and create a bar graph. They must interpret the data as well. Everyone engages in hands-on games and activities which lead them to predict possible outcomes for a...
National Security Agency
Are You Game? A Lesson Connecting Fractions and Probability
Exactly how fair are the board games children grow up playing? Young mathematicians investigate this questions as they work their way through this five-lesson series on basic probability.
Curated OER
Probability Lesson Plans
Here is an article on how teachers can use probability lesson plans to teach their charges about theoretical and experimental probability.
CK-12 Foundation
Expected Value: Game of Chance
Determine whether the payoff is worth it. Pupils calculate the expected value of a game with three different payoff levels. Each level has a different probability of winning money. The scholars find the expected payoffs for each level...
Curated OER
Mathematics of Fair Games
Pupils examine mathematicians' notion of fairness in games of chance. They work in pairs to perform three different experiments using macaroni and paper bags. They record their results on charts and compare their data.
EngageNY
Chance Experiments
Class members are introduced to probability using terms such as impossible, unlikely, likely, and certain. Numbers between zero and one are associated with the descriptions of probability. Pupils find the likelihood of chance experiments...
Mathematics Vision Project
Probability
Probability, especially conditional probability, can be a slippery concept for young statisticians. Statements that seem self-evident on the surface often require a daunting amount of calculations to explicate, or turn out to be not so...
EngageNY
Calculating Probabilities of Compound Events
Use tree diagrams with multiple branches to calculate the probabilities of compound events. Pupils use tree diagrams to find the sample space for probability problems and use them to determine the probability of compound events in the...
Statistics Education Web
Odd or Even? The Addition and Complement Principles of Probability
Odd or even—fifty-fifty chance? Pupils first conduct an experiment rolling a pair of dice to generate data in a probability instructional activity. It goes on to introduce mutually exclusive and non-mutually exclusive events, and how to...
National Security Agency
It's Probably Probable
Learners make predictions and draw conclusions from given information as they learn the meaning of probability in this vocabulary-rich, integrated activity that presents a variety of teaching strategies to motivate and reach all learning...
Shodor Education Foundation
Crazy Choices Game
Wanna take a chance on which game is best? The resource provides three games of chance using multiple types of games. Games range from coin toss to cards. Choosing a type of game, pupils determine what wins and enter the theoretical...
Curated OER
Probability Crossword
Make probability fun and test your learners' knowledge of math probability vocabulary. Print out this crossword puzzle and see if they know enough about outcomes and experiments to fill in the blanks. The answer key is attached in...
Noyce Foundation
Fair Game?
The game should be fair at all costs. The mini-assessment revolves around the ability to use probabilities to determine whether a game is fair. Individuals determine compound events to calculate simple probabilities and make long-run...
Curated OER
The Game of Chance
Third graders use manipulatives to determine the probability of outcomes. In this probability lesson, 3rd graders roll dice and use spinners to determine the probability of outcomes. They determine if games are fair/unfair based on their...
EngageNY
Chance Experiments, Sample Spaces, and Events
Want a leg up on the competition? Show classes how to use mathematics to their advantage when playing games. Learners calculate probabilities to determine a reasonable scoring strategy for a game.
Intel
Fair Games
Who said things were fair? The unit introduces probability and its connection to fairness. The class interacts with activities of chance and plays games to relate them to fairness. Groups design a fair game and develop a presentation....
EngageNY
Estimating Probabilities by Collecting Data
Take a spin to determine experimental probability. Small groups spin a spinner and keep track of the sums of the spins and calculate the resulting probabilities. Pupils use simulated frequencies to practice finding other probabilities to...
Curated OER
Unexpected Answers
Students explore the concept of fairness. In this fairness lesson, students play four probability games. Students determine who has the best chance of winning each of the four games. Students discuss which games gave an unfair advantage.