Last updated: December 26, 2019
Lesson Plan
Statistics and Saguaros of Section 17
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Math
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
Objective
The objective of this lesson is to help students learn how to identify statistical questions as well as be able to work with data by finding the mean, median, mode and range.
Background
Shortly after the Saguaro National Park was established in 1933, park rangers noticed a decline in saguaros in the Cactus Forest area on the east side of Tucson. In order to study why the cacti were dying, all saguaros in a one square mile section of the park called "Section 17" were counted, mapped, and measured. Smaller plots within Section 17 have been studied ever since.
Preparation
Familiarize self with the saguaros of Section 17
Print Statistics Worksheet
Materials
Procedure
#1: As a class, watch the video about the saguaros of Section 17.
#2: Introduce (or re-introduce) statistics and probability to the students. Brainstorm potential scientific questions and whether they require statistics or not.
#3: Make sure that the students are comfortable with finding the mean, median, mode, and range of a data set. Remember that when calculating the mean, students must first add all of the values, then divide the sum by the number of values. To find the median, they must arrange the value from least to the greatest, then find the median from the number in the middle; if there are two values in the middle or there is an even number of values, students must simply take the mean of the two values. To find the mode, simply find the value that occurs most frequently. The minimum is the smallest values; and the maximum is the greatest value. To find the range, subtract the smallest value from the greatest value.
#4: Let the students work on the worksheet by themselves.
#5: Come together as a class and check answers.
Vocabulary
Saguaro- a giant columnar (cylindrical) cacti that is native to the Sonoran Desert
Mean- also known as average
Median- the value that is in the middle of a data set
Mode- the value that occurs most frequently
Range- the difference between the highest and lowest value in a data set
Rubric/Answer Key
Statistics and Saguaros of Section 17 Answer Key