Aquarius Lesson Plan
Focus
Grade
Level
Focus
Question
SP.MI.1
Understand statistics as a process for making inferences about population parameters
based on a random sample from that population.
High School
Can I effectively make inferences about a population based on a random sample from that
population?
Learning
Objective
s:
NC State Objective and Goal Being Addressed:
Materials
Teacher: Computer, white board markers, white board, worksheets, bag of rice divided into
sandwich bags for each student
Audio/Vis
ual
Materials
SP.MI.1
Learner Objective(s): At the completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Make inferences and estimations about an entire population after being given a random sample of
information from that population.
Students: Paper, pencils, worksheets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj6frb_mHzQ&feature=related
This video is an introduction to the underwater research facility Aquarius.
Teaching
Time
Seat
Arrange
ment
Maximu
m
Number
of
Students
Key
Words
30 minutes
Backgrou
nd
Informati
on (Prior
Knowled
ge)
The students will already understand ratios, percentages, Cartesian graphs, and a basic
knowledge of what the study of statistics is
Opening
Activity
The opening activity will be to watch the video in the link above. In my TFP 492 class, we watched
this to start a class period and I was instantly engaged. I am fascinated by underwater research and I
did not know that anything like Aquarius existed. I believe this video will have a similar effect on
students in a high school classroom.
Learning
Groups of Four
30
Population, Random Sample, parameter, statistic, variability, population density
1. Intro with Video
Aquarius Lesson Plan
Procedur
e(
Activity)
2. Talk about the kind of research done at Aquarius
3. Intro particular biology example- Ecologists have a grid that is a perfect square
divided into smaller perfect squares. They will place the grid on an area of a coral
reef and record how many of a particular organism are in each small square on the
grid and their location within that square. They make a graph out of this
information. From this graph, we can make estimations about the population.
Here is a worksheet for the students to practice this estimation.
http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/mcvittiej/resources/redlily/secondary/
pdf/population_samplinglab.pdf
Connecti
ons to
Other
Subjects
Biology
Closing
Activity
and
Assignme
nt
Give the students similar homework problems to the example we did in class with the rice and
worksheet. Let them have time to work on it in class with each other which enables them to ask
questions to me and to each other.
Assessme
nt
I will assess the student’s progress by grading their homework and further reviewing the subject in
the following class period if needed.
Other
Links and
Resource
s
Both links used in this lesson plan are listed above.