Probability in Math

Probability and Statistics is one of my favorite subjects to explore with my math students each year. I usually hold off until the spring and we finish the school year having fun with all sorts of games and experiments. Probability is such a fun unit to teach because children naturally engage with games of chance, and you can do so much with materials you probably already have - coins, dice, and a deck of cards. In past years, we've created probability carnivals for other classes to participate in, invented fair and unfair games, played endless games of chance, and even do a egg smashing activity on the final day of math class. Of course, this year looks different, but I hope we are still having a bit of fun at home with the games I've provided.

A little note - you may be thinking, wait! I didn't learn about probability until high school! What could a 7 and 8 year old child possibly be getting out of learning about this now? This is all just laying a stronger foundation for further study later on - what we educators call scaffolding. What is MOST important (and tricky) is that children construct their own understand of these concepts through games and experimentation. Telling and explaining is not nearly as effective as those ah ha moments that come from collecting data and seeing the results - and coming to their own conclusions.