Getting to Know You

5 min

Teacher Prep
Required Preparation
Make a space for students to place their sticky notes at the end of the Warm-up. For example, hang a sheet of chart paper on a wall near the door.

Narrative

This Warm-up prompts students to compare four survey questions. It gives students a reason to use language precisely (MP6) and gives you the opportunity to hear how they use terminology and talk about characteristics of the items in comparison to one another. 

Launch

Arrange students in groups of 2–4. Display the questions for all to see. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time and then time to share their thinking with their small group. In their small groups, tell each student to share the items in their group and the property that those items share that any other items do not.

Student Task

Use the four questions to make a group of two related questions. What property do the items in the group share that the others do not?

  • Question A: How many potato chips are in this bag of chips?
  • Question B: What is the typical number of chips in a bag of chips?
  • Question C: What type of chips are these?
  • Question D: What type of chips do students in this class prefer?

Sample Response

Sample responses:

  • Group of A and C. There is only 1 correct answer to the question.
  • Group of B and D. They require collecting and analyzing data to find a solution.
  • Group of A and B. The solutions are numerical.
  • Group of C and D. The solutions are categorical.
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)

Invite each group to share one reason why a particular set of two questions go together. Record and display the responses for all to see. After each response, ask the class if they agree or disagree. Since there is no single correct answer to the question of which questions go together, attend to students’ explanations, and ensure the reasons given are correct.

During the discussion, prompt students to explain the meaning of any statistical terminology they use, such as “numerical data,” “categorical data,” or “average,” and to clarify their reasoning as needed. Consider asking:

  • “How do you know . . . ?”
  • “What do you mean by . . . ?”
  • “Can you say that in another way?”

Math Community

After the Warm-up, tell students that today is the start of planning the type of mathematical community they want to be a part of for this school year. The start of this work will take several weeks as the class gets to know one another, reflects on past classroom experiences, and shares their hopes for the year.

Display and read aloud the question “What do you think it should look like and sound like to do math together as a mathematical community?” Give students 2 minutes of quiet think time and then 1–2 minutes to share with a partner. Ask students to record their thoughts on sticky notes and then place the notes on the sheet of chart paper. Thank students for sharing their thoughts and tell them that the sticky notes will be collected into a class chart and used at the start of the next discussion.

After the lesson is complete, review the sticky notes to identify themes. Make a Math Community Chart to display in the classroom. See the blackline master Blank Math Community Chart for one way to set up this chart. Depending on resources and wall space, this may look like a chart paper hung on the wall, a regular sheet of paper to display using a document camera, or a digital version that can be projected. Add the identified themes from the students’ sticky notes to the student section of the “Doing Math” column of the chart.

Standards
Building On
  • 6.SP.1·Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. <em>For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.</em>
  • 6.SP.A.1·Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. <span>For example, “How old am I?” is not a statistical question, but “How old are the students in my school?” is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.</span>
Building Toward
  • HSS-ID.A.1·Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
  • S-ID.1·Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
  • S-ID.1·Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
  • S-ID.1·Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).

25 min