Math lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 60 minutes
Mean, median, mode and range
Statistics and probability
CCSS 6.SP.A.3CCSS 6.SP.B.5.CEngland: Y6 StatisticsEngland: KS3 StatisticsEngland: GCSE Foundation Statistics
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Mean, median, mode and range.
- 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: Divide by a one-digit number; Column addition and subtraction
Leads to: Problems with the mean; Quartiles, IQR and box plots; Averages from frequency 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 · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Divide by a one-digit number; Column addition and subtraction). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- 475 ÷ 5 = ? → 95Prompt: Use short division (bus stop): divide the digits from the left.
- Use column addition: 6578 + 2165 → 8743Prompt: Line up the digits by place value, ones under ones.
- 4632 ÷ 6 = ? → 772Prompt: Divide the first digit (or first two digits) by the divisor.
Hook · 6 min
- Take a quick class survey (favorite fruit, travel to school) and ask what the results tell us.
- Share the objective: Mean, median, mode and range. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Find the mean of: 11, 14, 15, 19, 10, 9
- Step 1: 11 + 14 + 15 + 19 + 10 + 9 = 78
- Step 2: 78 ÷ 6 = 13
- Answer: 13
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Find the mean of: 15, 11, 13, 17, 9, 12, 14 → 13Prompt: Add all the numbers.
- Find the median of: 18, 6, 7, 2, 22, 10 → 8.5Prompt: Put the numbers in order first.
You do: independent practice · 17 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Find the median of: 27, 10, 3, 18, 4, 17, 17 → 17Prompt: Put the numbers in order first.
- Find the mode of: 11, 15, 9, 9, 20, 4 → 9Prompt: The mode is the value that appears most often.
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: Divide by a one-digit number.
- 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: Problems with the mean; Quartiles, IQR and box plots; Averages from frequency 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-6.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder