Week 10 Math Reflection

©Breakey, D. 2015. Spinner.

This week in class we explored data management and probability. Presenters continued to teach small lessons and break down the unit for their peers. In the Ontario curriculum students are expected to build on data management and probability as they progress through various grades. In grades 4 and 5 students are focusing on predicting the frequency of an outcome and comparing two related sets of data. They are expected to use common fractions to express their findings and will often learn this process through the use of simple games and probability experiments. 

A simple activity that was showed to us in class involved a paper clip and a piece of paper divided into 4 sections and labelled 1 through 4. Students were to make a spinner using these materials by putting their pencil through the paper clip and down at the centre of the piece of paper. From there, we were expected to spin 10 times and record the results. We were to show our results in a chart and display the final answer as a fraction. The photo shows an example from class. This is a simple activity where students can start to record their findings and predict future results.

©Breakey, D. 2015.
Data Collection Cups. 

In a second activity, we focused specifically on data collection. As a group we had to decide on a question we wanted to conduct a survey for. We were allowed to use any type of charting method we could think of. We decided to find out what were our classmates favourite type of tree and we used a cup and counters to collect our data. This activity gave us a chance to try different forms of data collection and also allowed us to explore which ones worked best. It also proved that the way you phrase your question matters.

After some personal exploration, I found that there were many good online games that could help students practice their probability skills. One such game is Fish Tank, a game where students must create fractions to reflect the probability of catching a certain colour of fish. There are so many probability game options on the website and each suits a certain skill or grade level. We often talk about the importance of student engagement and how to get students to enjoy math. Online games are a great strategy and something they can usually access at home as well as at school for practice. This is a strategy I will try and incorporate into my classroom in the future because the topic of data management and probability can be extremely interesting for students if we make it so!