Lesson plan

Lesson 1: Mystery Bags

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teaches Common Core State Standards 7.SP.C.6 http://corestandards.org/Math/Content/7/SP/C/6
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To introduce the unit on probability, students play a game to collect data about what is inside bags and then make a decision based on the information they have collected. The process of using previous results from repeated trials to inform the likelihood of future events is one way to estimate probabilities that will be revisited later. 

Bags that contain a certain number of colored objects will be used in this unit. To reuse materials already in the classroom, colored snap cubes are recommended, but any items of different colors that cannot be determined based on feeling will work. If there are not enough suitable items, equal sized pieces of paper can be colored or have the color written on them and used in the bags.

Lesson overview

  • 1.1 Warm-up: Going Fishing (5 minutes)
  • 1.2 Activity: Playing the Block Game (30 minutes)
    • Includes "Are you Ready for More?" extension problem
  • Lesson Synthesis
  • 1.3 Cool-down: Jada Draws Even (5 minutes)

Learning goals:

  • Compare outcomes for different experiments, predict which experiment is more likely to produce a desired result, and justify (orally and in writing) the prediction.
  • Describe (orally) how we can use the outcomes from previous experiments to help determine the relative likelihood of future events.

Learning goals (student facing):

  • Let's make predictions based on what we know.

Learning targets (student facing):

  • I can get an idea for the likelihood of an event by using results from previous experiments.

Required materials:

  • snap cubes
  • paper bags

Required preparation:

  • Prepare enough bags of blocks so that each group of 4 students can have one bag and all groups will have had a turn with each color of bag after three rounds.
    • Label one-third of the bags "green" and put 9 green blocks and 3 blocks of another color into each of these bags.
    • Label one-third of the bags "blue" and put 8 blue blocks and 8 blocks of another color into each of these bags.
    • Label one-third of the bags "red" and put 4 red blocks and 10 blocks of another color into each of these bags.

Glossary:

  • Access the complete Grade 7 glossary.

 

 

 

 

 

IM 6–8 Math was originally developed by Open Up Resources and authored by Illustrative Mathematics, and is copyright 2017-2019 by Open Up Resources. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). OUR's 6–8 Math Curriculum is available at https://openupresources.org/math-curriculum/.

Adaptations and updates to IM 6–8 Math are copyright 2019 by Illustrative Mathematics, and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Adaptations to add additional English language learner supports are copyright 2019 by Open Up Resources, and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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