Instructional Plan
Teacher Candidate: ____Kirsten Bayless________________
Date:
4-13-11 __________
Cooperating Teacher: __Leslie Huff________________
Grade:
5
____
School District: _____Pullman__________________ School: ___WSU________
University Supervisor:
Leslie Huff
______
Unit/Subject: Math - Probability
______
Instructional Plan Title/Focus:
Determining Probability
Learning Targets/Purpose/Previous Learning
•Instructional Plan Purpose:
 The purpose of this lesson plan is to introduce the concept of probability to the students
and further their understanding of fractions, percents, and decimals in a way that shows
they understand how to calculate the outcome of a specific event (Ex: the probability of
rolling a ‘6’ on a die is 1/6 or approximately 16.5%). The students should be able to
determine the vocabulary word (likely, unlikely, impossible, or certain) to describe the
fraction, decimal, or percentage probability of a specific outcome. Also, the students will
understand how to solve any given probability problem by solving problems as a class and in
a small group of students, as well as what a probability problem consists of by writing their
own problem individually.
•State Learning Standards:
-5th Grade Mathematics
o 4.4.F Describe and compare the likelihood of events.
o 4.4.G Determine a simple probability from a context that includes a picture.
o 4.4.H Display the results of probability experiments and interpret the results.
-5th Grade Educational Technology
o Innovate: Demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge and develop
innovative products and processes using technology.
•Content Objectives:
o The students will be able to determine whether the probability of a specific event
occurring is likely, unlikely, impossible or certain.
o The students will be able to write down a fraction, decimal, or percentage to
express the probability of an event occurring.
o The students will be able to define the probability terms of likelihood, outcomes,
equally likely, impossible, and certain, when applied to a probability situation.
o The students will be able to solve a probability problem using technological
manipulatives (online spinners, dice, coins, etc) as a resource.
•Previous Learning Experiences:
o Before this lesson, students will have previous knowledge of basic fractions,
percentages, and decimals, which will make it easier for them to convert
probabilities into fractions, percentages, or decimals.
Assessment Strategies:
Content Objectives
The students will be able to determine
whether the probability of a specific event
occurring is likely, unlikely, impossible, or
certain.
Assessment Strategies
Formative: Walk around and observe students solving
probability problems (make a checklist of which
students are correctly solving the problems and which
students need extra help).
The students will be able to write down a
fraction, decimal, or percentage to
express the probability of an event
occurring.
Summative: “Exit ticket” at end of class with several
probability problems
Formative: Use the student-created problems that the
students solved to see if they have a proper fraction,
decimal, or percentage written down for the answer to
the problem.
The students will be able to define the
probability terms of likelihood, outcomes,
equally likely, impossible, and certain,
when applied to a probability situation.
Summative: “Exit ticket” at end of class that allows
students to write answers to several probability
problems in fraction, decimal, or percentage format
Formative: Walk around and ask each student the
meaning of a probability term as they are working on
their probability problems (make a checklist of which
students get the correct answers).
The students will be able to solve a
probability problem using technological
manipulatives (online spinners, dice,
coins, etc) as a resource.
Summative: “Exit ticket” at end of class where the
students have to define the terms discussed in class
Formative: Walk around and observe the students
solving probability problems using the probability
website with the online manipulatives shown at the
start of the lesson.
Student Voice:
K-12 students will:
1. Communicate the learning
targets and their progress
toward them.
Student-based evidence to be
collected (things produced by
students: journals, work samples,
projects, papers, etc.)
Student-written probability problem
Description of how students
will reflect on their learning
Students will write their own
probability problem showing
that they understand what a
probability problem consists of
and they will solve another
student’s problem to show
that they know how to solve a
2. Review their performance
and set personal learning
goals based on those
assessments.
Reflection for homework
problem and evaluate whether
the problem was easy to solve
or more difficult for them.
Students will write a reflection
describing what they had a
difficulty with when solving
probability problems, and what
they still need to work on in
order to understand the
material better.
Grouping of Students for Instruction
 Students’ desks will be arranged in groups of four spaced evenly throughout the classroom.
 If possible, at least one struggling student and one student who understands the material well
or has background in probability will be at each group.
 Students will work on probability problems in groups of four during class instruction and
discussion, then they will report to the whole class.
 Students will individually write their own probability problems and then pass them to a different
group member to solve.
Learning/Teaching Experiences
 Introduction:
o Attention Grabber: “Imagine now with me that we are playing a game of Yahtzee. It is
your turn to roll and you want to get a Yahtzee or a 5-of-a-kind. If you do not get a
Yahtzee, you will have to take a zero for the category. Before you roll, it is important to
know the risk that you are taking so that you can make the best decision possible. By the
end of the class today, you will be able to figure out if it is a good idea to go for a
Yahtzee or not by calculating the probability of getting a Yahtzee.”
o Connection to Students’ Lives: “Probability is the possibility that a certain event will
happen. For instance, in Yahtzee, the probability of getting a Yahtzee is all the possible
rolls to get a Yahtzee out of how many possible rolls that could be a Yahtzee or not a
Yahtzee. Probability is important when we are taking risks because we want to make the
decision that gives us the best chance. People around the world use probability every
day. The weather man uses it to let us know the possibility of snow occurring when he
says, “There will be an 80% chance of snow today.” Knowing the probability of the
weather can help us to plan the events of our day and know what to wear. In another
sense, probability can be as simple as just knowing the possibility of pulling out a
chocolate chip granola bar in a variety pack. All of these situations happen in our daily
lives, so it is good to know how to calculate probability.”
 Questions:
o 1. What are some examples of probability in real life when you would have to decide
whether an event is likely to happen or not?
o 2. How does what we have learned about fractions play into probability?
o 3. Why is it important to know how to calculate probability?
o 4. What are some other games (like Yahtzee) where calculating probability would give
you an advantage? Why?
o
o

5. What are all the ways that you can calculate probability? Which one do you prefer
and why?
At the end of the lesson, I will pass out a different question to each table group and ask
them to do a “think/pair/share” activity, meaning that they will write their answer
independently in their journals, then they will share their answers with one other
person in the group, and finally they will share their question and answers with the
entire class. We will have a short class discussion about each question.
Instruction:
o Teaching Approaches:
 The teacher will teach the entire class how to solve a probability problem
several different ways and explain the meaning of probability terms on the
whiteboard or the smart board.
 The teacher will walk around and listen to group conversations about solving
probability problems and the difficulties that they are having, and he/she will
interfere and ask questions to probe new ways to the solution when they are
needed.
 The teacher will use the discussion information and group conversations to
come up with an “exit ticket” and make sure that students understand the
material well.
 The teacher will have a group discussion asking the class about different ways to
solve probability problems, when probability will come up in real life, and why
probability is important, allowing the students to think critically.
o Multiple means of access
 Students will get information at the start of the class from the teacher through
an explanation of probability terms and a demonstration of several different
ways of solving probability problems.
 Students will be provided with a vocabulary sheet of all of the probability terms
that they need to know.
 Students will be given a chance to interact and discuss probability solutions with
their groups, as well as with the entire class in group discussion.
 Students will be given time to explore the probability manipulatives through
technology and hands-on physical manipulatives.
o Multiple means of engagement
 Class discussion
 Teacher modeling
 Independent and group work
 Visual representation
 Technology (online manipulatives)
o Multiple means of expression
 Students can create problem about anything as long as it includes the basic
components of a probability problem (describes situation, in order to solve you
must determine likelihood and give a numerical answer in fraction, decimal, or
percentage form).
 Students can solve problems in a variety of different ways
 Using words, pictures, numbers
 Using manipulatives available in class
 Using technology (online manipulatives)

Learning Activities:
o Instructional Plan
 Students will learn how to calculate probability several different ways as a class
through the teacher going through a couple problems step-by-step with the
class. The teacher will show how to solve the probability problem using algebra,
drawing pictures, using hands-on manipulatives, and using technological
manipulatives (online spinner, dice, etc).
 The teacher will define the basic probability terms and hand out a vocabulary
sheet with definitions for future reference.
 The students will be given the same probability problem to solve as a group,
while the teacher walks around and listens to group conversations and asks the
group questions to get them back on track if they do not understand how to
solve the problem.
 The teacher will ask different groups to go up to the board and explain to the
class how they solved the problem and why they chose to solve it that way.
 The teacher will tell the students that they now have the chance to write their
own probability problem individually. The teacher emphasizes that each student
must write their own problem and not write these problems as a group. The
problems can be about any subject as long as they incorporate some of the
vocabulary for probability that was learned and lead the student who is solving
the problem to give an answer as a fraction, percent, or decimal, as well as a
vocabulary term identifying the likelihood of the event in the problem.
 The teacher will tell the students to pass their probability problems to the
student on their right, so that each student has a new probability problem to
solve. The teacher gives the students some time to solve these probability
problems while circulating the room and observing the different ways those
students are solving the problems. If students are having difficulty, the teacher
helps them by asking them a question to get them closer to the answer or
showing them a different way they could think about the problem (pictures,
algebra, symbols, etc).
 The teacher will collect the problems and solutions to assess the students’
knowledge of probability and whether they know how to solve the problems
correctly or not.
 The teacher will have a closing discussion with the class, going back to the
problem about Yahtzee at the beginning of class. The teacher asks several
students to come up to the board and try to explain how to solve the problem
to the class. The class has a final discussion about probability, as the teacher
asks some of the critical thinking questions listed above (each table group does
a Think/Pair/Share activity as described above).
 The class will fill out an “exit ticket” that the teacher created while the students
were working on solving their own probability problems. The “exit ticket” will
consist of defining several probability terms and solving a basic probability
problem that has an answer of a probability expressed as a decimal, fraction, or
percent.
 The class will write a reflection as homework, detailing what they learned about
probability and what they struggled with the most. The teacher will collect these
reflections the next day to gather information on whether to change the lesson
o
o


plan, make an action plan, help individual students, or re-teach probability in a
new way.
Modes of Presenting Tasks:
 The teacher will use either a whiteboard or smart board to show the class how
to solve a probability problem using algebra or pictures.
 The teacher will show various ways of solving the same probability problem
using both hands-on manipulatives and the smart board to go to the
technological manipulatives website, showing students that they can use
technology to solve the problem.
 Natural Library of Virtual Manipulatives
(http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_5.html)
Remedial and Extension Activities
 Remedial: Put the students into partner groups, pairing students who struggle
understanding with students who are getting the concepts well. Have the
students who understand well explain the process of how they solve a couple
probability problems and allow the students to ask questions of one another to
fully understand the process. If the student still does not understand, provide
some extra worksheets or allow them some time inside class to play some
probability games or activities online.
 Ex: http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/probability-games.html
 Extension: Have the students design their own board game that incorporates
some aspect of probability. For instance, the game could have a die, a
colored/numbered spinner, or different colored game spaces. Have them figure
out the probability for a few specific outcomes of the game.
Closure:
o Students will be given one of the five critical thinking questions that are listed above.
They will do a Think/Pair/Share activity, where they are given time to write down their
response to the question, then they share those responses with their group, and last
they share their group responses with the rest of the class. The teacher will have a
closing discussion about probability, using the questions and responses to frame the
discussion and then answer and discuss any other questions that students may have.
 Question 1: How would you use probability in a real life situation?
 Question 2: How do you prefer to solve a probability problem and why?
 The teacher will remind students about the Yahtzee problem at the beginning of
the lesson and solve the problem with the class, asking several students to come
up and show a way to solve the problem. The teacher will also remind students
that probability situations come up in real life with games, the weather, and
everyday decisions we make.
Independent Practice:
o Possible Family Interaction
 Have the students have a family game night and play dice games or board
games that reflect the probability terms that were learned or a problem that
may be solved (i.e. games that involve a colored spinner, dice, coins, etc)
Additional Requirements
 Integration with Other Content Areas:
o English is integrated into this lesson through the introduction of probability vocabulary
terms, including highly likely, unlikely, impossible, certain, likelihood, outcomes and
equally likely. Students are given a sheet with all of the vocabulary terms and definitions
for their use.
 Acknowledgements:
o Instructional plan adapted from
http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/lessonplans/probability-predicting-outcomes-andlikelihood
o Instructional Plan created by Kirsten Bayless
o Washington state standards for this lesson plan were taken from the OSPI website