Curriculum / Math / 7th Grade / Unit 7: Statistics / Lesson 2
Math
Unit 7
7th Grade
Lesson 2 of 9
Jump To
Describe sampling methods that result in representative samples.
The core standards covered in this lesson
7.SP.A.1 — Understand that statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a sample of the population; generalizations about a population from a sample are valid only if the sample is representative of that population. Understand that random sampling tends to produce representative samples and support valid inferences.
The foundational standards covered in this lesson
6.SP.A.1 — Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.
6.SP.B.5 — Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:
The essential concepts students need to demonstrate or understand to achieve the lesson objective
Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson
In Lessons 2 and 3, students define and experiment with random sampling. In Lesson 2, students discover that there are several different ways to collect sample data of a population, but not all of these methods are representative or fair. Students begin to understand that a random sample tends to lead to an unbiased sample of the population. In Lesson 3, students will engage in an activity where they can see how random sampling leads to more accurate information about a population.
Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.
Problems designed to teach key points of the lesson and guiding questions to help draw out student understanding
In a poll of Mr. Briggs’s math class, 67% of the students say that math is their favorite academic subject. The editor of the school paper is in the class, and he wants to write an article for the paper saying that math is the most popular subject at the school.
Explain why this is not a valid conclusion and suggest a way to gather better data to determine what subject is most popular.
Mr. Brigg's Class Likes Math, accessed on March 29, 2018, 12:35 p.m., is licensed by Illustrative Mathematics under either the CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. For further information, contact Illustrative Mathematics.
Tonya wants to determine the average number of books that students in her school read each month. She decides that she will collect a sample of responses from 25 students in her school. Below are some methods she is considering using to collect her data. Discuss pros and cons for using each method to collect sample data and which method, either on this list or a new idea, that you think Tonya should use.
a. Ask the students in her eighth-grade homeroom
b. Ask the students in her sister’s sixth-grade math class
c. Ask the students in the after-school book club
d. Ask the first 25 students she sees on a Monday morning
e. Assign each student in the school a number, randomly choose 25 numbers, and ask those students
A set of suggested resources or problem types that teachers can turn into a problem set
Give your students more opportunities to practice the skills in this lesson with a downloadable problem set aligned to the daily objective.
A task that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
A teacher wants to treat his homeroom class for having perfect attendance the last three months. He is deciding between offering a pancake breakfast in the morning or a pizza lunch in the afternoon.
To help him decide, he takes a poll of the first 10 students to arrive at school in the morning.
Do you agree with the teacher’s choice of sampling method? Explain why you think this method will be representative of the class, or describe a different method the teacher should use to get a representative sample.
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
The following resources include problems and activities aligned to the objective of the lesson that can be used for additional practice or to create your own problem set.
Lesson 1
Lesson 3
Topic A: Understanding Populations and Samples
Understand and identify populations and sample populations for statistical questions.
7.SP.A.1
Generate a random sample for a statistical question.
7.SP.A.1 7.SP.A.2
Create a free account to access thousands of lesson plans.
Already have an account? Sign In
Topic B: Using Sample Data to Draw Inferences About a Population
Analyze data sets using measures of center and measures of variability
7.SP.B.3 7.SP.B.4
Determine the impact of sample size on variability and prediction accuracy.
7.SP.A.2
Estimate population proportions using sample data.
Topic C: Using Sample Data to Compare Two or More Populations
Compare different populations by analyzing visual data distributions.
Compare populations by analyzing numerical data.
Identify meaningful differences between populations using the mean and mean absolute deviation (MAD) of samples.
See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.
Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.
Yes
No
Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable math lesson plans for free