Discovery Education
Fuss About Dust
Dust is everywhere around us; it's unavoidable. But what exactly is dust and are certain locations dustier than others? These are the questions students try to answer in an interesting scientific investigation. Working independently or...
NOAA
How Do We Know?: Make Additional Weather Sensors; Set Up a Home Weather Station
Viewers learn about three different weather measurement tools in installment five of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build weather vanes to collect data on wind speed, barometers to determine air pressure, and rain...
American Statistical Association
Happy Birthday to . . . Two?
How many people do you need in a room before two likely share the same birthday? Scholars consider this puzzle by analyzing a set of data. They ponder how to divide the data and determine the proper size of a group for this event to...
Willow Tree
Data Sampling
Some say that you can make statistics say whatever you want. It is important for learners to recognize these biases. Pupils learn about sample bias and the different types of samples.
EngageNY
Ruling Out Chance (part 1)
What are the chances? Teach your classes to answer this question using mathematics. The first part of a three-day lesson on determining significance differences in experimental data prompts learners to analyze the data by determining the...
Curated OER
Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom
Students investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct an...
American Statistical Association
Armspans
Young mathematicians collect data on the arm spans of classmates. Then they sort the data by measures of center, spread, and standard deviation. Finally, they compare groups, such as boys and girls, to interpret any differences.
Statistics Education Web
Who Sends the Most Text Messages?
The way you use statistics can tell different stories about the same set of data. Here, learners use sets of data to determine which person sends the most text messages. They use random sampling to collect their data and calculate a...
Computer Science Unplugged
Battleships—Searching Algorithms
How does a computer perform a search in order to find data? The lesson begins with a demonstration on finding one number out of 15. Pairs then play three games of Battleship by using different search techniques. The lesson plan finishes...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: High School Math – Claim 4
What is the appropriate model? Sample problems show the extent of the Smarter Balanced assessments Claim 4, Modeling and Data Analysis. Items provide pupils the opportunity to use mathematical modeling to arrive at a reasonable answer....
Curated OER
How Many?
Middle schoolers explore and design ways to collect data through simulations and random samples. They perform two experiments to determine the answers to various probability problems, and present the data/graphs in the form of a...
EngageNY
Selecting a Sample
So what exactly is a random sample? The 15th part in a series of 25 introduces the class to the idea of selecting samples. The teacher leads a discussion about the idea of convenient samples and random samples. Pupils use a random...
Curated OER
Misleading Graphs
Students explore number relationships by participating in a data collection activity. In this statistics instructional activity, students participate in a role-play activitiy in which they own a scrap material storefront that must...
Curated OER
Color Tile Graphing
Students explore data. They gather data and generate questions about the data in pictographs, tallies, tables, and bar graphs. Students use color tiles pulled by random to create their own bar graph. They discuss the bar graphs they...
Statistics Education Web
Using Dice to Introduce Sampling Distributions
Investigate the meaning of a sample proportion using this hands-on activity. Scholars collect data and realize that the larger the sample size the more closely the data resembles a normal distribution. They compare the sample proportion...
Statistics Education Web
What Percent of the Continental US is Within One Mile of a Road?
There are places in the US where a road cannot be found for miles! The lesson asks learners to use random longitude and latitude coordinates within the US to collect data. They then determine the sample proportion and confidence interval...
Statistics Education Web
How Wet is the Earth?
Water, water, everywhere? Each pupil first uses an Internet program to select 50 random points on Earth to determine the proportion of its surface covered with water. The class then combines data to determine a more accurate estimate.
American Statistical Association
Step into Statastics
Class members study the size of classmates' feet and perform a statistical analysis of their data. They solve for central tendencies, quartiles, and spread for the entire group as well as subgroups. They then write a conclusion based on...
Curated OER
Collecting Data
In this algebra worksheet, students collect and analyze data. They graph and identify their solutions. There is one question with an answer key.
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Nuclear Popcorn
Make your lesson on radioactive decay pop with this lab exercise. Using popcorn kernels spread over a tabletop, participants pick up all of those that point toward the back of the room, that is, those that represent decayed atoms. As the...
EngageNY
Estimating Probability Distributions Empirically 1
What if you don't have theoretical probabilities with which to create probability distributions? The 11th installment of a 21-part module has scholars collecting data through a survey. The results of the survey provide empirical data to...
Curated OER
Asthma Survey
Learners collect survey data on the prevalence of asthma in a community. They summarize and display the survey data in ways that show meaning.
Statistics Education Web
It Creeps. It Crawls. Watch Out For The Blob!
How do you find the area of an irregular shape? Class members calculate the area of an irregular shape by finding the area of a random sampling of the shape. Individuals then utilize a confidence interval to improve accuracy and use a...
Curated OER
Data Analysis Worksheet
In this probability worksheet, 11th graders solve problems using simple random sample, cluster sample, bias, population and systematic sample. They match the questions to its definition.