Teacher: Taryn Geroche

Date: 04/12

School: Conrad Ball Middle School

Grade Level: 6

Title: Mean or Median?

Content Area: Math

Lesson #:_1_ of _11_

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.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.
Objective:
Interpret data using measures of spread and measures of center.
Choose the appropriate measure of center to represent the data based on its distribution.
Learning Target:
I can: determine the best measure of central tendency for summarizing my data.
This means: I can choose between using mean or median based on my data.
List of Assessments:
Formative: Ticket Out The Door , observation of students work
Summative: Pre-Test and Post-Test

Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of
Lesson

Approx. Time and

Materials

Mean or Median?
The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand that while both
mean and median are measures of the center of a data set, it is often
more appropriate to use one measure than the other.
Approximate Time: 1 day = 70 min
Materials: Do Now sheets and flipchart, iPads, pre-test Google Form,
Mean or Median worksheets from Carnegie text

Page 1

Do Now

Students are just coming back from spring break, so this will be a good
reminder of the statistics we studied before break and a hint at what we
will be moving into.

Procedures

Do Now: 15 min
Students know to start the Do Now as soon as class starts. Teacher lets
students work for about 10 minutes, then goes over the answers with the
class, allowing students to share their answers.
Pre-Test: 15 min
Direct students to the class page on Schoology, where they can find the
link to take them to the pre-test. Let students know that since this is a
pre-test, there may be some concepts that look unfamiliar, and thats ok,
as long as you still try your best.
Mean or Median?: 35 min
After a brief reminder about what mean and median are, release students
to work on the Mean or Median? chapter packet. Students may work in
pairs with those around them, or on their own. While students are
working, the teacher is roaming to answer questions, observe students
progress, and ask challenge questions of those who are getting ahead. If
there are any big misconceptions throughout the class, the teacher
gathers the students attention to make the announcement.
Closure: 5 min

Closure

To assess how well students picked up the information about mean vs.
median, we have a short ticket out the door which students need to
complete in order to leave for the day. The ticket out the door was this
question: should we use the mean or the median to represent the
following data set, and why? The data set is shown below:

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Differentiation

Allowing students to work with those around them is one of my main

tools of differentiation I strategically sit students next to those who I
think could help them, or those who I think they themselves could help.
For any student who still isnt sure what mean and median even are, I
might pull them aside for a short mini-lesson while others are working
on their packet. For those who are done quickly, I will challenge them to
figure out why we have the rules that we do about mean vs. median.
Why does it work?

Management

The most important part of letting the students work on the packet on
their own is giving clear instructions and expectations for their work
time. Students know that they must stay on task, and this advanced class
is usually fine at it. If students are not on task then they will be asked to
move to a different seat or work silently.

Reflection
Letting the students work on their own went well the lesson was well scaffolded so that with
only a little guidance, the students were able to complete the lesson. The point of this lesson was
exactly what the standard says, to be able to choose a measure of center based on the distribution
of the data. Since students already knew how to find mean and median, this was a good choice
of lesson to let them work on on their own because it was not a far leap from the things they
already knew.

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