LESSON PLAN

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

LESSON ORGANISATION
Year Level: 9 Time: 50 minutes Date: dd/mm/yyyy
Learning Area: Mathematics
Strand/Topic from the Australian Curriculum:
Statistics & Probability
Compare data displays using mean, median and range and
interpret numerical data sets in terms of location and
spread (ACMSP283) Elaboration: Comparing means,
medians and ranges of two sets of numerical data which
have been displayed using histograms, dot plots, or stem
and leaf plots.

Students Prior Knowledge:

Basic understanding of probability
experiments and sample spaces, including
generating data from sample spaces.
Ability to arrange numerical data in
ascending and descending order.
Knowledge of basic operations in
arithmetic - addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division.
Year 8 Concepts of Statistical
Analysis i.e. basic definitions of central
tendency and spread.

General Capabilities (that may potentially be covered in the lesson)

Literacy
Numeracy
ICT competence
Critical and
creative thinking

Ethical
behaviour

Personal and
Social
competence

Intercultural
understanding

Cross-curriculum priorities (may be addressed in the lesson)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures
Proficiencies:(Mathematics only)

Asia and Australias engagement with Asia

Sustainability

Lesson Objectives
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
Calculate the mean from different sets of numerical data, using both an understanding of the
concept of average as well as using the mean formula.
Evaluate the measures of central tendency and spread for a numerical set of data i.e. calculate
mean, median, mode, range and Interquartile Range (IQR).
Construct and compare box plots and their features. For example, identifying which of the two sets
of data has the greater median, IQR and/or range.
Define the concept of an outlier, both in words and a mathematical formula.
Teachers Prior Preparation/Organisation:

Classroom set
up - desks all facing whiteboard

CASIO
ClassPad simulator attached to projector

CASIO
ClassPads or Student Scientific Calculators

Materials:

Whiteboard
markers

Tape measure
to record heights

Box-Plot

Provision for students at educational risk:

Low Level Students - Ensure these students are
kept engaged during the lesson, by prompting them
with questions and using them as examples.
High Level Students - Have these students think of
another real world example in which statistical
analysis of data would be use. That is, calculating
central tendencies and spread. If time allows,
students may also look into the concept of an outlier
for the next lesson.

number line sheet

Prepare ICT
tools: Box-Plot generator
http://www.alcula.com/calculators/statistics/box-plot/

LESSON EVALUATION (to be completed AFTER the lesson)

Assessment of Lesson Objective and Suggestions for Improvement:
Did I teach in a methodical manner in which the students could understand?
Did the students achieve the correct answers on the work sheets?

Were the students actively participating in the class?

Did I achieve all my teaching objectives for the lesson

Could the students recognise the relevance and usefulness of a box plot in this experiment?
What will the students need to work on/revisit in the next lesson, when we readdress this topic?
Was the concept of the Inter Quartile Range understood by all-level students?
Did the lower level students find the task difficult? Were the experiments assigned to them appropriate
for their learning? Did I give them enough help and guidance to understand their task?
Teacher self-reflection and self-evaluation?
Did the students seem engaged with what I was teaching?
Did I feel confident teaching the class?
How did I cope with the varying range of abilities?
Were the students interested in the lesson that you presented them with?
Did each student participate in the discussions?
Were all objectives met?
What aspects of the lesson did the students complete?
How can this be improved?

Time

10 mins

LESSON DELIVERY (attach worksheets, examples, marking key, etc, as relevant)

Resources &
Motivation and Introduction:
References
Ensure that students are lined up outside prior to entering the
classroom. Ask for two student volunteers to go inside and put down
their materials. Have these students measure the other students
heights (nearest whole number) as they enter the classroom, and
Tape measure
notify each student of their height in centimetres. When they receive
their height, ask them to write their result on the whiteboard, then to be Whiteboard markers
seated.
Once all students have come through, greet the class formally.
Outline Focus of the Lesson: What we are going to be
doing today is look at different ways to measure where the middle of a
set of data lies. In particular, we will be looking at what we call the
measures of central tendency i.e. the mean, median and mode. In
addition to that, we will be looking at the spread of the data i.e. the
range. To do this, we are going to be using our class as the sample
and our heights as the data set.
Ask the class to simply observe the data on the board and ask
for 5 student guesses as to what they think the average/middle of the
data may be? Teacher Note: Perhaps ask your lower level/less
confident students to make the guesses as they are purely guesses
and hence, there are no wrong or right answers.
Ask the class about the range of the data. Ask for 5 student
guesses on the likely height difference between the shortest and tallest
in the classroom.

Lesson Steps (Lesson content, structure, strategies & Key Questions):

17 mins

Ask students what is meant by the term average. Use the

word mean as a synonym and give a word based definition for the
mean i.e. the sum of all the data divided by the total number of
elements in the data.
Using this definition, construct the equation for the mean and
write this equation on the board. Ask students to calculate the mean
height of the classroom, by adding all the heights on the board and
dividing it by the total number of students in the class.
Similarly, establish a definition for the other central tendencies
i.e. the median and. However, stress to the students that the condition
of the median is that the data must be in ascending order and that the
mode is the most frequently occurring value.
Define the measures of spread, including range, lower quartile
and upper quartile and inter quartile range.
Ask students to figure out the median, mode, range, upper and
lower quartiles and the IQR of the data set using the equations and
definitions on the board. Ask the students to record their results in their
workbooks as they will need to upload their calculations to the Weebly
after the lesson.
Teacher Note: Walk around the classroom assisting students
with the calculators and the calculations/definitions where needed.
Allow approximately five to ten minutes for this exercise. Note: During

Graphics or Scientific
Calculators

Whiteboard markers

this time, make sure your computer is properly connected to the

projector and the ClassPad simulator is ready for the next activity.

ClassPad Simulator
Projector

Gage who is still working on the calculations, and give

students an appropriate time warning depending on how many
students still going. If students are finished then ask them to have their
ClassPads ready for the next activity.
Once students have finished, give students the following
instructions:
Open Statistics Mode
Enter the Heights of the Class into List1 of the
table. The teacher is to do the same into the simulator so
students can see what they are supposed to be doing.
Once all students have successfully entered the data,
demonstrate how to calculate mean, median, mode, UQ, LQ, IQR and
range through the solve/Calc function on the calculator. Be sure that
students follow the steps:
Calc
One Variable
List1 as X
Make student aware of the symbols that are used to denote each of
the measures in the calculator.
Ask students to compare the calculations from the ClassPad to
their own calculations. Are the same? Did other students get the
same? Teacher Note: Ensure you have the correct answer so
students can check off your solution. Get students to record these
results in their workbooks.
Key Question What are the benefits of using a calculator for
sets of data such as this, rather than performing by hand calculations?
Guide students to think about the large sample vs. small sample
situation. That is, with a small sample, by hand calculations are easier,
but when it comes to larger samples, the calculator is a more efficient
method.

13 mins

Activity: Box-Plots
Introduce Box Plots as a way of representing the spread of
data. Suggest how we can compare different classes and interpret
different sets of data. Draw a box plot and label the features of the boxplot maximum value, minimum value, median, range, upper quarter,
lower quarter and IQR. State the significance of each of the four
sections in the box-plot i.e. each section contains 25% of the data.
Introduce the video on boxplots - ask class to pay close
attention to video and to take notes in their note pads. Play the video.
When the video is finished, ask students to enter the data into
the box plot generator. Once this done, ask them to check their box
plots with the people sitting next to them to make sure they have done
this correctly.
Now ask the class From what we have learnt over the last
four lessons, can you please discuss how you would figure out each of

https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?
v=o7qWblT5NZI&noht
ml5=False
Box-Plot Sheet

these probability questions on the white board

What is the probability of picking a height over
the median?
What is the probability of a picking a height
over the median,
given that it is above Q1?
Give the probabilty that you pick a number
within the box?
What is the probability of you picking a
number in the lower quartile (<Q1), given that is is not in the
upper quartile (<Q3).
If there is time: Ask some students at random for their answer
to each of the four questions (one student per question). Look to ask
one or two of the students who have been struggling with this work so
far.

5 mins

5 mins

Lesson Closure:(Review lesson objectives with students)

Ask the class randomised questions such as What is the
mean? What is the median? What is the range? How else can we
measure the middle of the data? What are the main advantages of
using a calculator instead of calculating the result by hand/mentally?
What do the sections in the box plot represent? What is the
significance of the IQR?
Ask students Is there anyone in this classroom who is
significantly taller or short than everyone else? This is the concept of
an outlier. Vocalise the definition of an outlier as a piece of data that
lies a certain distance away from the middle of the data. This will be
explored in the following lesson.
Transition: (What needs to happen prior to the next lesson?)
Set Homework Task of generating the box plot using Alcula if it
hasnt already been done in class. These box plots need to be
uploaded to the Student Outcomes section of Weebly by the next
lesson.
Students need to make sure they bring graph paper, iPads and
graphic calculators for each of the upcoming lessons.
Assessment: (Were the lesson objectives met? How will these be judged?)
Student understanding will be informally assessed through
class discussion at the end of the lesson as well as the teacher
assessing each of the students box plots.
Students can also assess themselves through comparing their
box plot to the one generated on Alcula.

Box-Plot Generator
http://www.alcula.com/
calculators/statistics/b
ox-plot/