Grade 5 - Statistics and Probability (Chance and Uncertainty)

The sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will predict outcomes, conduct experiments, and communicate the probability of single events.

It is expected that students will:

list all possible outcomes of an event
explain events using the vocabulary of probability: best/worst
probable/improbable
never/less likely/equally likely
likely/more likely/always
conduct probability experiments and explain the results using the vocabulary of probability
conduct probability experiments to demonstrate that results are not influenced by factors such as the age, experience, or skill of the participant

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Statistics and Probabilities (Chance and Uncertainty) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Chance and uncertainty are of interest to students because they apply to the games that they play. Activity-based co-operative grouping works well as an instructional approach. Through their own experiences, students build critical-thinking skills that help them make decisions in situations of uncertainty.

Have students work in groups to develop a chart or table of possible outcomes from throwing a pair of dice and adding the result. Have several groups throw a set of dice several times and record the results as sums of the dice. Discuss the differences in the results between the groups and how these differences relate to probability.
Have students play the game A Random Walk.

Reproduced with permission from Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics: Addenda Series, Grades K-6: Fifth Grade Book, copyright 1992 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

The assessment of students' understanding of chance and probability at this level should focus on students' developing awareness, and their ability to talk and write about these concepts and to demonstrate their understanding through simple experiments or games of chance. As their understanding of chance and probability grows, students should participate in these activities with confidence and enthusiasm.

Observe

How do students approach activities involving chance?
What strategies do they use when conducting probability experiments?
To what degree can they describe and present to others their understanding of chance?

Question

Have students describe in their own words how A Random Walk is played. Their descriptions might be oral or written as a learning log entry.
Interview students to determine their understanding of the factors that may influence outcomes:
- To what degree can students describe these factors?