Probability Middle School Style: Barf & Rotten Eggs

Probability might be one of my least favorite topics to teach. The real-world applications are endless, but somehow all our curriculum can ask about is how likely one is to roll a 3 and land on green on a spinner. Real-life application: nil. Now, I don't know about you, maybe you lead a much more exciting life than I do, but I have never, not once, spun a spinner and then rolled a die and actually cared about the result.


I am trying to mix it up and get some more real-world application going on in this unit (perhaps a Vegas week!?), but until then, I am getting into the middle school mindset with a gross activity to teach probability with independent events. I got this idea from a Harry Potter themed baby shower (side-note, best baby shower theme ever!). Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (well, actually they are Jelly Belly brand "Bean Boozled" beans. Same dif.)


Here's how it worked:

Fair warning -- I've seen the "Canned Dog Food"
flavor gag a grown-man.

• I had one "Bean Boozled" game (with spinner) and three replacement packs (one for each of my other classes).
• I would spin the spinner and we would talk about the probability of getting each space. Then, we talked about the predicted number of each type of bean there was, given the total (at the end this led to a good talk of theoretical probability vs actual or experimental probability).
• I would then pass out however many beans there were of that flavor (to volunteers of course, no forced jelly-bean-eating here)
• They would eat their beans one at a time. We would recalculate the theoretical probability for each flavor as one was eaten
• As we went on we calculated the probability of getting three of the "bad flavors" in a row 

This was a great activity that engaged my students at their level: candy, gross things, watching their classmates (and teacher) gag. We did all the math on whiteboards (paperless, woot!) and all it costs me was the candy $2.99 for game, $1.79 for each replacement pack from Party City. Might have been cheaper at Wal-Mart). Not too bad in my opinion (and I am super cheap when it comes to buying stuff for my classes). 

So, if you need a fun way to engage your students in the topic of probability I recommend Jelly Belly's "Bean Boozled" game!

Making Math Real: Percent, Discount, Sales Tax

One of the things I love about teaching math is that there is so much real-world application. Along with Science, it is one of the only subjects where, most of the time, I can make real-world connections with my students.

One of the things I hate about teaching math, is that the curriculum so infrequently reflects this real-world connection. (Sidenote: I recently stopped my lesson on probability with a 32 second mini-rant about how I have never in my entire life flipped a coin then spun a spinner and cared about the result. Honestly, come on curriculum peeps)

During our unit on percents I tried to remedy this lack of connection. I chose to take a lesson that involved 10 questions on discounts and sales tax and open a "mini-mall" in my classroom. I'm sure other teachers have done this much more effectively, but I had one day for this lesson (and I'm cheap and wasn't going to go out and buy a lot of items for my students to purchase like some much-more-awesome-than-me teachers do).

This is a great activity you can use for your students with minimal set up and high engagement.

Here's how it works:

1. Split your class into groups of 4. Each group will get one "Amount to Spend" card. I chose to use QR codes so students wouldn't be fighting over getting the larger amounts. 
2. Each student gets one "Discount" card. 

After that it is pretty much up to you how to run it. Here is what I did..

1. Students go a few at a time to the "mall" (a table in the back of the room where all the items to purchase are laid out) and choose one item. I made several copies of the items so there was enough for everyone and several of the popular items were still available. 
2. In groups, students calculate the amount of their item by find the discount and subtracting it. **An alternative is to have each member choose an item and then the group decides how to allocate their discounts. This gets them thinking a little more. 
3. Groups complete the recording sheet. If they have more money remaining after each member purchases something, they decide together what else to purchase and return to the "mall"
4. I announce that the mall is closing and if they want to make any final purchases, now is the time.
5. After closing, groups calculate the amount they spent. Then they calculate the sales tax for their items and answer the discussion questions. I had my students do their work on butcher paper on the desks, because that's fun. They could do whiteboards or notebooks, whatever floats your boat.

I love that this brings in real world topics like budgeting, over and under spending, sales tax (and why you have to pay it) and so many other skills that many of my students are unfamiliar with, while also teaching the skills of finding percent and discount. 

This activity was super easy to make, but if you don't want to reinvent the wheel, it is available at my shop on Teachers Pay Teachers shop. Click the button on the right sidebar or click here. 

Enjoy!

Tis the Testing Season

Tis the season.

State testing is upon us.

I teach in a large public school district in Texas which means the next few weeks will be filled with kitchy slogans somehow incorporating the word "STAAR." ("Shoot for the "STAARs!" "Be a STAAR!" and so on...)

With STAAR and other state tests fast approaching, teachers, administrators, and specialists are working and straining to find engaging (yet structured) ways to review an entire year's worth of material in 2 - 4 weeks. The problem is, there are many students who have mastered the material, and many who did not and need to be retaught pretty much everything.

There are oodles of ways to go about reviewing and many activities to trick students into practicing their material. Here is one method I've used successfully.

QR Code Scavenger Hunt:

Here's how it works. Each student needs a recording sheet and maybe a partner because that's always more fun. Cut out the cards lengthwise so that there is an answer and a QR code together, and post around the room. Students can start at any question. They scan the QR code on the right and answer the question, showing their work on their recording sheet. Once they have their answer, they look for the card with that answer on the left side. When they find it, they scan the QR code on that card to get their next question. If done correctly, students should see all questions and end up where they started.

The first time I did this I had low expectations, but I was surprised! Something about the magical QR code goodness sucks them in more than just your regular, old scavenger hunt. Try it. It's fabulous!

(Shameless plug)

Available at TPT: 

6th Grade QR Scavenger Hunt (STAAR Review)

7th Grade QR Scavenger Hunt (STAAR Review)

And the low-tech, QR free option for 7th Grade