Guess Your Classmates’ Ages

 

Tina Oleson

 

Program: Spreadsheet – Excel

 

Grade: 6th - 8th

 

Subject: Math

 

Topic: Mean, Median, Mode

 

Indiana Standards: 8.5.1, 8.6.1, 8.6.2, 7.5.1, 7.6.2, 7.6.3, 6.5.1, 6.6.3

ISTE Standards: III, V, VI

 

Objective: Growth of student computer expertise as they practice and learn the use of the computer and Excel in the manipulation, comparison and analysis of data. This is a major teaching goal of producing a situation where a student achieves success.

 

Description: Students will guess what their ages are in months, weeks, and days. They will then figure their exact ages in months, weeks, and days. Using an excel spreadsheet they will then find the mean, median, and mode of the students’ ages.

 

Steps of Lesson:

      1. Each student guesses all classmates’ age is in months.

 

      2. Each student guesses all classmates’ age in weeks.

 

      3. Each student guesses all classmates’ age in days.

 

      4. Figure the exact age of all students’ in months.

 

      5. Figure the exact age of all students’ in weeks.

 

      6. Figure the exact age of all students’ in days.

 

      7. Record all the information in an excel spreadsheet.

 

      8. Discuss what mean, median, and mode is and what it is used for.

 

      9. Figure the mean, median, and mode of the guesses and the actual ages in the spreadsheet.

 

 

 

 

Follow-up Questions:

 

1. How many months, weeks, and days are there in a year?

 

 

2. How did your guesses compare with your actual ages?

 

 

3. Did anyone accurately guess their age? How close were they?

 

 

4. How do you figure the mean of a group of numbers?

 

 

5. How do you figure the median of a group of numbers?

 

 

6. How do you figure the mode of a group of numbers?

 

 

7. What is the mean, median, and mode of your class’ actual ages?

 

 

8. Was the mean, median, and mode of the actual ages different? Why or why not?

 

 

9. How could you more accurately guess the ages if this lesson was repeated?

 

 

10. Did you like this lesson? How would you change it to make it better?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Age Rubric

Name:__________________________

 

Were there guesses made for all students?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Were there actual ages figured for all students?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Were the actual ages figured correctly?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Was the spreadsheet completed?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Was the mean calculated correctly?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Was the median calculated correctly?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Was the mode calculated correctly?

 

      5       4       3       2       1

 

Each question is worth 5 points.

 

1

 

6

 

2

 

7

 

3

 

8

 

4

 

9

 

5

 

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sample of Student Work: