Math lesson plan · 7th grade (Year 8 in England) · 30 minutes
Probability of simple events
Statistics and probability
CCSS 7.SP.C.5CCSS 7.SP.C.7England: KS3 ProbabilityEngland: GCSE Foundation Probability
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Probability of simple events.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Equivalent fractions; Percentages, fractions and decimals
Leads to: Experimental probability and expected results; Compound events and sample spaces; Two-way tables
Materials: Squared paper for charts, Class survey data, Sticky notes for a live chart, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Equivalent fractions; Percentages, fractions and decimals). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Write 15% as a decimal. → 0.15Prompt: Per cent means out of 100.
- Write 5% as a decimal. → 0.05Prompt: Per cent means out of 100.
- Write 96% as a decimal. → 0.96Prompt: Per cent means out of 100.
Hook · 3 min
- Take a quick class survey (favorite fruit, travel to school) and ask what the results tell us.
- Share the objective: Probability of simple events. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: What is the probability of rolling a number greater than 4 on a fair six-sided dice? Give a fraction in simplest form.
- Step 1: 2 out of 6 outcomes.
- Step 2: P = 2/6
- Step 3: = 1/3
- Answer: 1/3
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- What is the probability of rolling a number greater than 4 on a fair six-sided dice? Give a fraction in simplest form. → 1/3Prompt: List all the equally likely outcomes.
- The probability that it rains tomorrow is 5%. What is the probability it does NOT rain, as a percentage? → 95Prompt: An event either happens or it does not: the two probabilities add up to 1 (or 100%).
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- What is the probability of picking a vowel from the letters of the word MATHS? Give a fraction in simplest form. → 1/5Prompt: List all the equally likely outcomes.
- The probability a spinner lands on blue is 0.7. What is the probability it does NOT land on blue? Give a decimal. → 0.3Prompt: An event either happens or it does not: the two probabilities add up to 1 (or 100%).
Watch out for
- Forgetting to put data in order before finding the median.
- Reading a bar's height wrongly when the scale goes up in 2s or 5s.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Equivalent fractions.
- Use concrete materials: squared paper for charts.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Experimental probability and expected results; Compound events and sample spaces; Two-way tables.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-7.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder