Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Aoife Whiteacre

Grade and Topic: Grade 6, Mathematics
for 2 days
Mentor Teacher: Murdock & Phillips
7061

Date: September 14, 2015

Length of Lesson: 45 minutes

School: University of Memphis IDT

Unit Objective
This lesson plan is part of a unit covering statistics and probability. Specifically, this falls under
the substandard to summarize and describe distributions. The development of understanding
statistical variability as well as summarizing and describing distributions is necessary in order to
prepare students for statistical thinking in both academic and realistic ways as described in the
Common Core mathematics standard CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.S.P.

Lesson Objective
Content Learning Goals and Objectives
1. Given a Student Data Collection Sheet, TLW fill in frequency counts of each color M&M for 15
students with a score of four out of four on the rubric.
2. Given a Student Data Collection Sheet, TLW hand calculate the basic measures of central
tendency as well interquartile range, variance, and standard deviation with a score of four out of
four on the rubric.
3. Given a computer and spreadsheet software, TLW recreate the top table (frequency count) from
the Student Data Collection Sheet in the spreadsheet software with a four out of four on the
rubric.
4. Given a computer and spreadsheet software, TLW recreate the bottom table (mathematic
measures) from the Student Data Collection Sheet in the spreadsheet software with a four out of
four on the rubric.

Student Participation
The goal of this lesson is for students to demonstrate a clear understanding of how to collect,
organize, and summarize statistics from an individual sized bag of M&Ms. Statistics include basic
measures of central tendency as well interquartile range, variance, and standard deviation.
Students will provide a visual representation of this by using spreadsheet software.

Standards: Curriculum & ISTE Standards for

Students
Curriculum Standards:
Common Core/Tennessees State Mathematics Standards for Grade 6:

Grade 6: Statistics and Probability Summarize and describe distributions

o Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:

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 with reference to the context in which the data were
gathered. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.S.P.B.5.C

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards:

2. Communication and collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to

communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual
learning and contribute to the learning of others.
o d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3. Research and information fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and
use information.
o b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information
from a variety of sources and media.

Materials
Materials Used
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Individual sized bag of M&Ms

Student Data Collection Sheet
Pencil
Computer
Microsoft Excel (or other spreadsheet program)
Student textbook (optional reference for central tendency formulas if needed)

Technology Integration
Students will use the computer to access Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet program. Students will
use this software to create a table, type, format, and edit information. Using the spreadsheet program
is useful for students because it helps conceptualize information as well as organize it in a concise,
clear, and meaningful way. Students, upon completing the activity, will save their work to the computer
as well as print a copy to turn in. A sample of the student product is available in the Student Product
section of this lesson plan.

Background and Rationale

Students will demonstrate an ability to collect, organize, and summarize

the distribution of M&Ms within the measures of central tendency as well as

interquartile range, variance, and standard deviation.

Academic Language is not addressed in IDT 7061.

This lesson is a continuation of Common Core/Tennessees State

Mathematics standard for grade 6.

Students will refer to this assignment and use it as an example to

meaningfully conceptualize measures of central tendency as well as other
mathematic concepts within the realm of statistical thinking.

I am aware that the lesson will be differentiated for students who did not
master the objectives and for those ready for enrichment. However,
modifications are not covered in this course and are not part of this particular
lesson.

Problem Statement
Imagine you are a marketing specialist for Mars (owner of the popular M&M candy) and your manager
wants you to compile data and create a statistical analysis on the individual sized bags of M&Ms. In
order to do so, you need to find a reasonably sized group (i.e. 15 or more) that each get an individual
sized bag of M&Ms and then determine multiple measures of central tendency, both basic and complex.
Basic measures of central tendency can be reported on the statistical analysis in order to gain insight
on how many colors of each M&M there are, etc. More complex measures of central tendency can be
reported on the statistical analysis in order to gain information about the spread of colors in each bag,
etc. With this wealth of information, you can develop an extensive report for your manager, in hopes to
boost sales and other areas of marketing for Mars.

Procedures and Timeline

Introduction
I will begin the class by reading the Problem Statement to cultivate student interest for the
activity.
I will then review basic measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode, and range),
the importance of them, and how we attain those measures.
I will provide a few example problems for students to practice and review the basic
measures of central tendency.
I will then instruct the students on how to find the interquartile range (middle 50% of the
range; difference of the 3rd quartile and 1st quartile), variance (average of the squared differences
from the mean), and standard deviation (square root of variance; how spread out numbers are).
I will provide a few example problems for students to fully understand and practice these
new concepts.
I will alert students that they will have the whole class period (45 minutes) for two days to
complete this activity.
I will then tell students about the task that they will perform and show them a student
sample (see Student Product section) on the projector screen so that they have an idea of what
they are being asked to do.
I will also show students the assessment rubric that I will use on the projector screen so
that they understand exactly what I will be looking for and how it will be graded.

Procedures
Prior to the Computer (Day 1 45 minutes)
o

Teacher Procedures
o After the introduction, distribute the Student Data Collection Sheet and tell students
that this is to help them collect and organize their information.
o Pass out an individual sized bag of M&Ms to each student and have them count
each color M&M in their bag.
o Advise students to begin communicating with 15 peers to exchange frequency
counts of M&Ms.
o Alert students that once they are done exchanging data to begin hand calculating
measures of central tendency and other items as denoted on the Student Data
Collection Sheet.
Student Procedures
o Students will receive an individual sized bag of M&Ms and count each color M&M in
their bag.
o They will then exchange frequency counts of M&Ms with 15 peers in the class and
use the Student Data Collection Sheet to organize the information in the format that
will similarly reflect the final product.
o Once students are done exchanging data, they will hand calculate the measures of
central tendency as listed on the Student Data Collection Sheet.

At the Computer (Day 2 30 minutes)

o

Teacher Procedures
o Have students select a computer to go to.
o Have students open Microsoft Excel.
o Demonstrate a quick overview of the functions of Excel, such as entering text,
making the cells smaller or larger, and changing the color of a cell.
o Instruct students to go ahead and name and save their sheet as their name followed
by a dash (-) and analyzing M&Ms. (i.e. Aoife Whiteacre Analyzing M&Ms)
o Ask students to begin recreating the table provided on the Student Data Collection
Sheet filled in by the data they collected the previous day and also a table just
below that with the measures of central tendency completed for each color of M&M.
o Instruct students to save their work at intervals while working, just in case.
o Monitor and assist as needed.
Student Procedures
o Open Microsoft Excel (or other spreadsheet program).
o Watch the short overview (by the teacher) of the simple functions of Excel.
o Save blank sheet as name followed by a dash (-) and analyzing M&Ms. (i.e. Aoife
Whiteacre Analyzing M&Ms)
o Begin typing in A1-E1 (across the first row) the headings: NAME, RED, YELLOW,
GREEN, ORANGE, BROWN, and BLUE.
o Format each heading to ensure sufficient room for heading title and text.
Additionally, format the cell color to match the color written. (i.e. BLUE with a blue
background color)
o Begin typing in A18-A27 (column headers for the second table) the headings:
SAMPLE SIZE, CLASS TOTALS, PERCENTS, MEAN, MEDIAN, MODE, RANGE, IQR
(Interquartile Range), VAR (Variance), and STD DEV (Standard Deviation).
o Make sure there is information filled in for each measure of central tendency per
color as shown in the Student Product.

o
o
o
o
o

Fill in information from research and Student Data Collection Sheet into each
corresponding cell in spreadsheet program.
Again, format each heading (row and column) to ensure sufficient room for heading
title and text.
When all information is entered, correct any spelling or typing errors.
Save a final copy.
Print a copy.

After the Computer (Day 2 10 minutes)

o

Teacher Procedure
o Tell students to hold on to their printed copy of their spreadsheet project until the
end of class.
o Place students in groups of 3 to 4 students.
o Give students 5 minutes to discuss the statistics they calculated from analyzing
M&Ms.
Student Procedure
o Students hold on to their spreadsheet projects.
o While in a group, students briefly discuss the statistics they calculated from
analyzing M&Ms.

Not at the Computer

If for some reason there are not enough computers to go around, the students will still be able to
complete the entire activity, just not in the above-stated order. The students, while not at the
computer, will be able to: finish calculating measures of central tendency (as noted on the
Student Data Collection Sheet) and create a table by hand to include those for each color of
M&M. This will make their time at the computer go by faster, for they already have replicated on
paper what it should look like in Microsoft Excel.

Closure (Day 2 5 minutes)

Ask a few students (dependent on time) to share what they learned about analyzing M&Ms,
including specific statistics.
Instruct students to write their names on the spreadsheet document.
Ask the students to turn in both their Student Data Collection Sheet and their printed
spreadsheet in the box at the front of the classroom before they leave.

Student Data Collection Sheet

Student Name: __________________________ Date:
_________________________________
Class Period: ____________________________ Teacher:
______________________________

Assignment Title:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Information to be collected:
NAME

RED

YELLOW

GREEN

ORANGE

BROWN

BLUE

The following items also need to be included in your final product

(math measures will need to be completed by hand and then typed
in their respective boxes):
SAMPLE SIZE
CLASS TOTALS
PERCENT (one
color/all colors)
MEAN
MEDIAN
MODE
RANGE
IQR (Interquartile
Range)
VAR (Variance)

STD DEV
(Standard
Deviation)

Student Product
Microsoft Excel Product

NAME
Sara
Kate
Cash
Lisa
Chris

RED
8
7
11
9
12

YELLO
W
13
17
19
11
10

SAMPLE SIZE
CLASS TOTALS
PERCENTS
MEAN
MEDIAN
MODE
RANGE
IQR
VAR
STD DEV

5
47
17%
9.4
9
#N/A
4
4
4.3
2.074

70
25%
14
13
#N/A
9
7.5
15
3.873

GREEN
7
5
3
8
8

ORANGE
9
7
7
5
4

BROWN
15
16
12
17
17

BLUE
1
3
4
7
4

TOTAL
53
55
56
57
55

31
11%
6.2
7
8
5
4
4.7
2.168

32
12%
6.4
7
7
5
3.5
3.8
1.949

77
28%
15.4
16
17
5
3.5
4.3
2.074

19
7%
3.8
4
4
6
3.5
4.7
2.168

276
100%
55.2
55
55
4
2.5
2.2
1.483

Assessment Evidence
Analyzing M&Ms Rubric
Criteria

0-1

Frequency count for

None of the frequencies
Only a few of the
each color M&M for
for each color M&M forfrequencies for each
15 students.
15 students were listedcolor M&M for 15
(4 pts)
on the Student Data students were listed
Collection Sheet.
on the Student Data
Collection Sheet.

Almost all of the

frequencies for each
color M&M for 15
students were listed
on the Student Data
Collection Sheet.

All of the frequencies for

each color M&M for 15
students were listed on
the Student Data
Collection Sheet.

Measures of basics
None of the measures Only a few of the
Almost all of the
All of the measures
of central tendency
for basics of central measures for basics ofmeasures
for basics of central
and interquartile tendency, interquartilecentral tendency,
for basics of central tendency, interquartile
range, variance, and
range, variance, and interquartile range, tendency, interquartile
range, variance, and
standard deviation.
standard deviation were
variance, and
range, variance, and standard deviation were
(4 pts)
listed on the Student standard deviation were
standard deviation were
listed on the Student
Data Collection Sheet. listed on the Student listed on the Student Data Collection Sheet.
Data Collection Sheet.Data Collection Sheet.
Frequency count None of the frequency Only some of the
table presented on
count
a table was
frequency
spreadsheet.
presented on a
count table was

Almost all of the

frequency
count table was

All of the frequency

count table was
presented on a

(4 pts)

spreadsheet (includingpresented on a
presented on a
spreadsheet (including
specific headers listed spreadsheet
in
(including
spreadsheet (including
specific headers listed in
procedures).
specific headers listedspecific
in
headers listedprocedures).
in
procedures).
procedures).

Mathematic
measures table
presented on a
spreadsheet.
(4 pts)

None of the mathematics

Only some of the
Almost all of the
All of the mathematics
measures table was mathematics
mathematics
measures table was
presented on a
measures table was measures table was presented on a
spreadsheet (includingpresented on a
presented on a
spreadsheet (including
specific headers listed spreadsheet
in
(including
spreadsheet (including
specific headers listed in
procedures).
specific headers listedspecific
in
headers listedprocedures).
in
procedures).
procedures).

Modifications
I am aware that modifications will be made for students who did not master the objectives and for
those ready for enrichment. However, modifications are not covered in this course and are not part of
this particular lesson.