What are the chances that...

Because so much of the school year is geared towards preparing students for the 8th grade NYS, teachers do not get to teach probability as part of the curriculum until mid-May (that would be now). Probability is actually one of the most enjoyable units/topics to teach because there is so much that we can do in terms of activities. While just about everything we learned this year is applicable to real life (well, I might be a little biased on that...), usually middle schoolers really enjoy learning probability.

In the probability unit, we cover: expected value, counting possible outcomes, basic probability calculations, conditional probability, theoretical vs. experimental probability and even introduce students to the basics of factorials.

I just finished planning with Miss Gonzalez a "class fair" that will include a variety of games (six different games) set up in stations for students to practice the probability concepts and to have fun actually playing the games. These aren't necessarily unique, but rather common carnival games studens may encounter at a fair (Wheel of Fortune, spinner/dice games, etc.) I might add a "trivia" section to the "class fair" with questions like "If there are 5 numbers in a zip code, calculate the number of possible zip codes if the each number in a zip code can be from 0-9."

I think the class fair is a really good idea for the end of the year, because it coincides with the more relaxed environment of the average post-NYS classroom. Some of these probabilty concepts will carry with students through high school, so it's really important to give the kids a firm foundation for this now.

Probability is, in general, really fun to teach and fun to do as well. It's not terribly difficult either, which makes the students like it even better! I wish I could have taught probability earlier on in the year... but I guess now's better than never.

P.S. Next year, my school's adopting an Integrated Algebra "honors" program for advanced math students to take during 8th grade. Students will have to take the NYS in April or May, and have the option (based on teacher recommendation) to take the Regents exam for high school credit. I will be teaching two sections of this class next year to balance out the more rowdy pre-algebra classes I will have. :)