I know! I know! I know! Its the Christmas holidays! I don’t need anyone else nagging me … if I wanted that I would actually listen to my husband.
The next half term is a real short one, and I know that its going to be a busy one; so far the list reads like this – a PGCE student on their second placement, prep for January exams, one-to-one sessions to organise (I’m also the schools co-ordinator!) involving about 20 teachers and endless students, and my final Masters assignment due at Easter. So with all that in mind I am trying to get ahead and plan a few weeks worth of lesson resources to use, and today I’ve put together: –
- A datasheet that is used with the accompanying worksheet about median and modal class from a table, which is how I like to start a lesson about estimating the mean.  The students have to evaluate the answers given by 4 teachers so isn’t a plain, old “what’s the median, what’s the modal class” style of worksheet (I don’t do plain old worksheets). The data sheet can then be used by the students to calculate an estimate for the mean once we’ve done a practice one as a group
- A nice little mid lesson assessment or plenary activity in a mission impossible style – which is a context question, with the tables’ columns switched over (from the way student would be used to) and they have to think about the actual question as it asks for the total money raised first and not just the estimate of the mean …
I think I’m going to develop the median/modal class worksheet into a full blown murder mystery where the students have to evaluate statements in relation to the total frequency and “sum of frequency x midpoints” to find out where a crime was committed and then statements about the estimates of the means to find out when it was committed … Great idea! Its good to talk!
And …Â my husband never nags me!!
