Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 71611
Stats Rock: Using Pet Rocks to Find the Mean, Median
and Interquartile Range (IQR)
Using pet rocks, the students will determine the mean, median and interquartile range (IQR) of the weights of the rocks. A PowerPoint presentation
and YouTube videos will introduce and reinforce the concepts of mean, median, and interquartile range (IQR).
Subject(s): Mathematics
Grade Level(s): 6
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter,
Internet Connection, Basic Calculators, LCD Projector,
Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 2 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: statistics, measurement, mean, median, mode
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Demonstration, Structured Inquiry (Level 2)
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Algebra
ATTACHMENTS
Guided Practice Key Stats Rock.docx
Guided Practice Stats Rock.docx
Instruction Stats Rock.pptx
Pet Rock IndependentPractice Stats Rock.docx
Summative Assessment Key Stats Rock.docx
Summative Assessment Stats Rock.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will:
demonstrate understanding of the measures of center (median and mean) and a measure of variability (interquartile range (IQR).
be able to calculate the mean, median and interquartile range (IQR) of a set of data during guided learning.
describe any overall patterns or striking deviation from the overall pattern.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students should be able to:
Use a digital scale to measure the weight of their pet rock to the nearest whole number gram. (MAFS.3.MD.1.2)
Round a decimal number to any place value. (MAFS.NBT.1.4)
Perform the mathematical operations of addition and division with whole numbers and decimals. (MAFS.5.NBT.2.7)
Use a four-function calculator.
page 1 of 3 Students must create a pet rock as an in-class assignment the day before the lesson. This should take about 30 minutes. Be sure to have decorations such as googly
eyes, hair, paints, etc. available for students to personalize their pet pock. Have students view the Wikihow article How to Create a Pet Rock for ideas.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What is the mean of a given data set?
How do you find the mean of a given data set?
What is the median of a given data set?
How do you find the median of a given data set?
What is the interquartile range (IQR) of a given data set?
How do you find the interquartile range (IQR) of a given data set?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The teacher will discussion that will include the following:
Begin the lesson by asking students what data is. Answers could include: data is information, height, weight, favorite color, etc.
Ask students what data is used for. Answers could include: to predict events, to make decisions, to compare attributes, to find out if students have learned a
particular skill, etc.
We will learn about two centers of measure- the mean and the median and one measure of variability- the interquartile range or IQR.
Show students the attached PowerPoint.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Use the attached worksheet for guided practice in finding the mean, median and interquartile range (IQR) of data sets. An answer key has been provided.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
In the independent practice, students will be measuring the weights of their pet rocks, adding their data to a class list, and using the class data to find the mean,
median and interquartile range (IQR). The teacher will have to make quick calculations of the class mean, median and IQR in order to provide correct feedback to the
students.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
In closing, students will present their pet rocks to the class and inform their classmates if their pet rock's weight was below or above the class mean or class
median. Students will discuss any patterns they find in the weights of the pet rocks. (For example, if most rocks' weights fell within a certain range. They will
discuss which rocks weigh the least and which rocks weigh the most and how these weights affect the mean and the median of the data set. Students will also be
able to determine the interquartile range (IQR) for this set of data.)
Students are able to verbally explain what the mean, median and interquartile range (IQR) are and how to find each.
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment will be used to determine whether students achieved a level of mastery. An answer key has been provided.
Formative Assessment
Before the lesson, the teacher should ask the students questions such as:
Do you know what a data set is? (Possible student responses could include: group of related data, such as ages, heights, colors, etc.)
Do you know what the mean of a data set is? (Possible student responses could include: the average, the middle)
Do you know what the interquartile range (IQR) is? (Answer: The middle 50% of the data. Most students should not be able to answer this question at this time.)
During the lesson, the teacher will address questions found in the PowerPoint presentation.
Feedback to Students
Students will receive peer feedback initially. They will compare their answers to the students around them. They will receive verbal feedback from the teacher.
Teacher observation will provide information on how well students are understanding the concepts of mean, median and interquartile range (IQR). The teacher will
monitor student answers and verbally correct any misunderstandings regarding these concepts.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Provide definitions and/or examples of mean, median and mode.
English Language Learners can use a bilingual dictionary to look up unfamiliar terms. Additionally, ELLs can be placed in groups with bilingual students who can
explain and translate any unfamiliar concepts or vocabulary.
Visually impaired students can work together with another student to copy the data sets being used. Additionally, a copy of the PowerPoint instructional slides can
be provided to visually impaired students.
Extensions: Extensions to this lesson would include having students measure the heights of their pet rocks with a tape measure, and then find the mean, median and
interquartile range (IQR) of the heights.
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, Basic Calculators, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
The following items should be provided by the teacher for the class to use:
rocks, googly eyes, glue, felt, paint, cloth any craft items desired. Allow students to decorate their Pet Rocks the day before the lesson starts.
digital scale preset to grams
Further Recommendations: Students can take pictures of their pet rocks with the weights listed next to them. These pictures can be posted around the
classroom in order by the weight of the rocks.
page 2 of 3 Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
This lesson is likely to support student engagement in the following Standards for Mathematical Practice:
MAFS.K12.MP.1.1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
MAFS.K12.MP.6.1 Attend to precision.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Teresa Perez
Name of Author/Source: Teresa Perez
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Miami-Dade
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
MAFS.6.SP.2.5:
Description
Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:
a. Reporting the number of observations.
b. Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of
measurement.
c. Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean
absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern
with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.
d. Relating the choice of measures of center and variability to the shape of the data distribution and the context in
which the data were gathered.
Particular alignment to:
MAFS.6.SP.2.5c:
c. Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean
absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with
reference to the context in which the data were gathered.
page 3 of 3