Page 15 - THE MATHMATE November 2024
P. 15
collaboration. Partners take turns rolling number Activity Instructions:
cubes for random addends and finding the sum. Roll a pair of number cubes 15 times to create
your own data set. Each time you roll your dice,
Variation 1: you will find the sum of the numbers. Each sum
Use 6-sided or 9-sided dice. will be one element in your data set. After creating
your data set, find measures of center-- mean,
Variation 2: median, mode—and measures of variation--
This activity can also be conducted using dice to range, extremes, and quartiles. See Appendix B
create factors to multiply forming products. The for a full-size activity sheet.
larger values in the data sets could be entered in
a spreadsheet to efficiently organize and analyze Conclusion
the data. Incorporating interactive, meaningful activities
with student-generated data will help them be
Variation 3: more motivated in learning measures of central
Extend the activity by having partners construct tendency. Authentic applications provide context
and interpret back-to-back Stem-and-Leaf plots for learning and answers to the age-old question,
and double box plots (Grade 8, SCCCRMS, “When will I ever have to use this?” While
2023). providing context enhances the teaching and
learning of mathematics, it also can promote
Materials: informed citizenship and problem-solving.
Dice, Graphing Calculator (optional), Spreadsheet Learning based on students’ interests is likely to
(optional) be a welcoming environment in which students
actively engage.
Scctm The MathMate 15 Volume 44/Number 1 October 2024
