Back to Math Fun (Volume 3) Lesson Plan

Subjects

• Mathematics
  --Arithmetic
  --Probability
  

Grade

• K-2
• 3-5
• 6-8
  

Brief Description

This card game involves predicting and probability.

Objectives

Students will

• play a game that reinforces the concepts of number sequence and greater than/less than.
• make predictions based on information they know and a single unknown.
• consider the concept of probability (older students).

Keywords

greater than, less than, number sequence, game, cards, probability, statistics

Materials Needed

• a deck of cards for each team (number cards only; face cards might be given a number value if you play the game with older students)

Lesson Plan

Arrange students into 3-person teams and give each team a deck of cards. Have students remove from the deck and set aside the Kings, Queens, Jacks, and jokers, shuffle the remaining cards and place them face down on a desk or table. In this game, the aces are worth one point and the number cards are worth their face value.

Have each student draw a card (Students must not look at the cards they hold) and hold that card stretched out in front of him/her so the other two students on the team can see it. Students study the cards of the other two members of their team and try to predict where the card they hold (but cannot see) falls in the sequence of the three cards. Is the value of their card most likely to be the lowest of the three cards, the highest of the three cards, or between the two cards? Students make their predictions known to the team. Then all three players turn their cards face up on the table. Which of the three students correctly predicted the placement of the card they held? Did one player predict correctly? Two players? All three of them? Correct predictions earn a point for the player. (If two players hold the same value card, and both predicted correctly, both earn points.) At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

Ideas for Adapting the Game

• Two-person teams might be appropriate if young students are playing the game.
• If older students are playing, you might include the face cards; giving a number value to each of them. For example, a Jack might be worth 10 points, a Queen might be worth 11 points, and a King might be worth 12 points.

Assessment

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-NUM.PK-2.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems

MATHEMATICS: Algebra
GRADES K - 4
NM-ALG.PK-2.1 Understand Patterns, Relations, and Functions
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-ALG.3-5.1 Understand Patterns, Relations, and Functions
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-ALG.6-8.1 Understand Patterns, Relations, and Functions

MATHEMATICS: Data Analysis and Probability
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-DATA.PK-2.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-DATA.3-5.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
NM-DATA.3-5.4 Understand and Apply Basic Concepts of Probability
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-DATA.6-8.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
NM-DATA.6-8.4 Understand and Apply Basic Concepts of Probability

Find more math fun activities in this week's Lesson Planning article, Math Fun (Volume 3).

You will find many additional math activities in Education World's Math Center.