SUBJECT: Mathematical Literacy GRADE: Ten
LESSON: Introduction to probability DATE: 15 March 2015
Duration: 45 minutes
LESSON OUTCOMES / CORE CONTENT:
At the end of this lesson the learners will be able to:
KNOWLEDGE:
define probability.
describe what a random event is.
describe what an outcome is.
explain the meaning of the probability scale.
list the three ways in which you can write probability
SKILLS:
draw the probability scale
answer questions based on the probability scale.
determine the probability of a coin toss.
calculate probability.
calculate the three ways in which you can write probability.
ATTITUDES AND VALUES:
show an understanding for where in the real world we can use mathematical
literacy.
learn the chances when gambling for anything valuable.
make responsible choices when pursuing anything that is taking a chance.
Introduction:
I will introduce the topic of probability by asking the learners to write down their name
on a piece of paper and put it in a hat. I will then ask them what they think the
chances are of their names being pulled. This will also test for prior knowledge.
Content Disclosure
Teacher’s Learner Key Assessment Estimated
Resources
actions activities concepts strategies time
Introduce The Annexure Oral paper 5 minutes
The topic of learners 1 feedback hat
probability will write see
by testing down annexure 1
for prior their
knowledge names
and
answer
the
question
Show a The Annexure Informal Video clip from 5 minutes
video clip learners 2 assessment YouTube
about will pay
chance attention
Direct Oral See Oral See annexure 3 minutes
instruction feedback annexure feedback 3 PowerPoint
on 3 and
probability
3A textbook
Grade 10
textbook Via
Afrika
Mathematical
Literacy
Flip a coin Oral See Oral See annexure 5 minutes
and explain feedback annexure feedback 4
the 4
probability
Direct the See Informal Word cards 3 minutes
instruction learners annexure assessment See annexure
on the 3 will pay 5 5
ways to attention whiteboard
write
probability
Teacher
learner Oral See Oral Die 15 minutes
interaction. feedback annexure feedback Deck of cards
Question 6 See annexure
and answer 6
Direct The See Informal Poster 3 minutes
instruction learners annexure assessment See annexure
on will take 7 7
probability notes and
line pay
attention
Classroom Oral See Informal Smarties 15 minutes
activity and feedback annexure assessment See annexure
give them 8 and 9, 8 and 9, 9A
homework 9A
to do
Closure:
The See Oral See annexure 1 minute
Ask them learners annexure feedback 10
the will do 10
probability the
of their activity
name in the
hat and
draw a
name.
Homework: activity in textbook Assessment: Informal assessment
(annexure 10)
Reflection:
Annexure 1
Introduction
There are in total 6 learners in the classroom (if everyone attends). I will ask each
learner to write down their name on a piece of paper and put it in a hat for a lucky
draw later.
Question 1
What do you think of when I use the word probability?
Question 2
What are the chances of any learner’s name to be pulled?
Answer
Each learner has a 1 in 6 chance of winning the lucky draw.
The answer that the learners give here does not have to be correct. I am simply
testing what they know without giving them the right answer because at the end of
the lesson I will ask them again and see whether they can answer it correctly after
learning the content.
Question 3
Has anyone in the class ever gambled before (not in a casino) but in any situation
with any small amount of money or objects?
Question 4
What is your opinion on gambling, betting or predicting?
__
Annexure 2
A video from YouTube with short clips showing anything to do with probability. It is a
short funny video that I decided to use because it is a different resource that caters
for this visual and auditory learner. It also shows that there are many different ways
to refer to probability and chance.
Annexure 4
QUESTION
How many possible outcomes do we have when tossing a coin?
EXPECTED ANSWER
Tossing a Coin
When a coin is tossed, there are two possible outcomes:
• heads (H) or
• tails (T)
We say that the probability of the coin landing H is ½.
And the probability of the coin landing T is ½.
Number of ways it can happen
Probability of an event happening =
Total number of outcomes
__
Annexure 5
After explaining the probability of a coin toss I will explain the three different ways in
which you can write it using the word cards.
1
Fraction 2
Percentage 50%
Decimal 0,5
Annexure 6
I will divide the learners into two groups of 3. I will hand the one group a die and the
other group a deck of cards (52 cards). I will then give them 2 minutes to look at
what they have in front of them and to decide on the random event and the outcome.
Die
Random event: Rolling the die which could land on numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Outcome: There are 6 possible outcomes. It could land on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Question 1
What is the probability of you rolling a 4?
Answer
The chances of rolling a "4" with a die
Number of ways it can happen: 1 (there is only 1 face with a "4" on it)
Total number of outcomes: 6 (there are 6 faces altogether)
1
So the probability =
6
1
Fraction: 6
Decimal: 1/6 = 0,1666666…
Percentage: 1/6 x 100 =16, 66%
Question 2
What is the probability of you rolling a 0?
Answer
There are no faces with a 0 on them so there is a 0% chance of you rolling a 0 on
the die
Question 3
What is the probability of you rolling an even number?
Answer
2, 4, 6 are all even numbers which means that out of the 6 there are 3 even numbers
The chances of rolling an even number with a die
Number of ways it can happen: 1 (there 3 even faces)
Total number of outcomes: 6 (there are 6 faces altogether)
3
So the probability =
6
3
Fraction: 6
Decimal: 3/6 = 0,5
Percentage: 0,5 x 100 = 50%
Deck of cards
Random event: Choosing a card from the deck when playing a game.
Outcome: You can choose any ONE of the 52 cards in the deck.
Question 1
What is the probability of you drawing a queen of hearts?
Answer
The chances of rolling an even number with a die
Number of ways it can happen: 1 (there is 1 queen of hearts)
Total number of outcomes: 52 (there are 52 cards in a deck altogether)
So the probability = 26
52
26
Fraction: 52
Decimal: 26/52 = 0,5
Percentage:26/52 x 100 = 50%
Question 2
What is the probability of you drawing any black card?
Answer
There are 26 red cards in a deck and 26 black cards in a deck.
Number of ways it can happen: 26 (there are 26 black cards)
Total number of outcomes: 52 (there are 52 cards in a deck altogether)
1
So the probability =
52
1
Fraction: 52
Decimal: 1/52 = 0,01923…
Percentage:1/52 x 100 = 1.92%
Annexure 7
I have made a poster of the probability line and I will explain how it works and show
them where their answers of the activity fit in
Annexure 8
I will hand all of the learners in the class a packet of smarties. In pairs they have to
throw out the smarties and count all of them. They then have to count how many
colours there are and write down how many of each colour is in the box of smarties.
They then have to write down the probability of drawing each colour in the box. The
probability should be written down in a fraction, percentage and decimal.
Example: There are 10 smarties in the box.
2 blue, 3 red, 4 green, I black
Blue:
Fraction – 2/10
Decimal – 2/10 = 0,2
Percentage: - 2/10 x 100 = 20%
