What are the chances?
People frequently use statistics to lend credence to a point: however, numbers don’t necessarily denote facts. Misrepresented numbers give false impressions that may be entirely meaningless.
A simple check of the validity of a statistic is to ask how believable it is. This test requires nothing more than common sense and rudimentary math skills to determine the plausibility of any claim.
In this activity, student pairs or trios work to review multiple claims that are supported by statistics and decide if those claims are plausible.
The Assessing Numbers Instructional Activities are continually reviewed. If you use this activity, please complete a Feedback Form afterward.
Standards: CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3, Grades 6 – 8
Objective: Given several examples of claims supported by statistics, students will identify which of these claims are plausible.
Teacher Resources
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Student Resources
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Susan Brooks-Young: sjbrooksyoung@gmail.com