Mean, Median and Mode. Elementary Maths (1ºESO & 2º ESO) Video & Game

Hello everyone! Watch this video on mean, median and mode, and learn the song, so you can impress me in our next class! Besides, if you learn the words, you'll remember how to differentiate between the three terms. When you've done that, test yourself with the simple game that follows.

The lyrics for the song:

Mean, median and mode
Mean, median and mode
How do you find the mean?
Add up the numbers in the data set
Divide the total by the number of items
The answer is the mean or average

Mean, median and mode
But how do you find the median?
Arrange the numbers in order
From the lowest to the highest values
The middle number is the median
For an odd number of items
The average of two middle numbers
Is the median for an even number of items

Mean, median and mode
Mean, median and mode
How do you find the mode?
Just find the number that repeats most often
And that number is the mode
If you find no number that repeats most often
Then there is no mode
Mean, median and mode
Mean, median and mode
Mean, median and mode

I'll explain the examples shown in the video:

Mean:

Data: 1, 8, 6, 4, 6

Add up all the numbers in the set: 1+8+6+4+6, which gives the answer 25. There are 5 numbers in the set. You calculate the mean (also known as average) by dividing 25 by 5, which gives the answer 5.

Median:

Using the same data, you arrange the numbers in ascending order: 1, 4, 6, 6, 8. Since there are 5 numbers (which is an odd number), the one in the middle is 6 (1 and 4 to the left of it, and 6 and 8 to the right). So, 6 is the median.

If, however, there are 4 numbers (which is an even number) 1, 4, 6, 6, you'll have to add the 2 middle numbers, which, in this case, is 4+6. Then, you divide the answer by 2: 4+6=10. 10 / 2= 5. So, 5 is the median here.

Mode:

The mode is basically the number which repeats most often. In our example, the number that repeats most often is 6 (repeats twice). If there aren't any numbers which repeat (e.g. 1, 8, 6, 4), then we say that there isn't any mode.

Let's test if you've understood the concept by playing this game. Have fun learning! Oh, and don't forget to submit a comment so I know you've been here!

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Read this if you have problems entering my blog

It has been brought to my attention that some users are unable to enter this blog without seeing some error message or other. I've tried to get to the bottom of this problem, and it all points to Internet Explorer as the culprit.

There are two choices; either you install Firefox, which, in my humble opinion, is a far better browser anyway, or you have to make sure that your system has all the latest updates. Read about it in Wiki or go to Microsoft Windows Update site.

In case you're wondering, there is no problem whatsoever with having two browsers; in fact, it can be rather useful. Some web sites work better with Internet Explorer, while others have been designed more for Firefox. These are the two most popular browsers at the moment. Google Chrome is trying to get a slice of the pie, but it still has some way to go. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is which you would prefer as your default browser.

Please email me if you have any further problems.

Ideas for Halloween in the classroom

Last updated 13 Oct 2009 20:45

In two weeks, Halloween is with us again. What have you got lined up for this year? Here are just a few ideas to help you get going.

To introduce/revise vocabulary related to Halloween, I've set up a PowerPoint presentation. Show the slide first, then elicit the word before revealing it. It's appropriate for basic level upwards. To display it properly, you'd need to download it. You may have to register with Scribd first.

To revise the vocabulary, do a miming activity. Show a picture to a student and she or he has to mime it for the others to guess the word. If you think the students already know the words, you can do the miming activity before showing the PowerPoint.

Halloween vocabulary

At the end of the vocabulary presentation, there are two activities which can be done independently:

Have a competition and see how many words the students can form from the word HALLOWEEN. You'd be surprised how many words are possible!

Then, ask them to think of all the words which can be associated with Halloween. Just like what I suggested in my odd one out post, you can accept practically any words. If they seem to be somewhat strange, ask them to explain the connection.

To introduce some tension in these activities, set a time limit, say of 5 minutes.

If you have a classroom projector, you can show them some videos. There are tons of Halloween-related videos you can find on the internet, but I've selected a few for you here. For the older or more advanced students, you can discuss the history of Halloween:

For the younger students, show them something more light-hearted:



To end the class, have a singalong with this monster hit!

Play them the karaoke version and have everyone join in! Unfortunately, they have disabled the option to embed, but here's the link:

If you don't like my ideas, try these sites:
abcteach
halloweenlinks

Have a harroween time!

How to make Finger-Licking Succulent Chocolate Brownies!

Each time I make this, I get inundated (well, I do like a bit of exaggeration here and there!) with requests for the recipe, so I've decided to publish it here. It's a very simple recipe, and doesn't need much elaboration at all. If you follow my instructions to the letter, I'll guarantee that you'll be the toast of the party!

Don't forget to look at this post, too: Cooking Verbs

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate (I use Nestlé dessert chocolate)
150g brown sugar
150g butter
150g wholemealflour (can be 75g white & 75g wholemeal)
150g walnuts, coarsely grounded
4 eggs
pinch of salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
vanilla essence (optional)
icing sugar

Procedure:

1. Melt chocolate together with the butter (à la bain-marie or in the microwave) in a fairly large mixing bowl. Let it cool a little.

2. Add sugar to this chocolate mixture, followed by the eggs and the salt. Mix well with a spatula. There isn't any need to beat or whisk the mixture.

3. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the flour and sieve them into the bowl, mixing continually. Add the walnuts and the vanilla essence.

4. Pour into a greased rectangular mould y bake in a preheated oven @ 175ºC for 30 mins.

Tip: maintain moisture in the oven by adding a small bowl of water.

5. Remove the mould from the oven and let it cool for several hours.

6. At this stage, the outside will be crusty, but the inside will be soft, almost uncooked. So, wait till it has cooled down sufficiently, then place it in the fridge. I normally leave it in the fridge overnight, but if you're in a hurry, several hours of refrigeration ought to be enough to solidify the middle a little.

7. Remove the cake from the mould, cut into small squares & sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve and bask in your newfound glory!

Do let me know of the outcome when you've tried it!

Pronunciation of regular past simple verbs /id/, /d/ and /t/ (Elementary +) Fun activity!

Most learners of English have problems pronouncing past tenses correctly. Fortunately, there are only three different ways of pronouncing the ending of regular verbs, which can be expressed by the phonetic symbols of /id/, /d/ and /t/.

Even more fortunately is that of the three, the sound of /id/ is the most obvious, and also the easiest to identify. The past simple of regular verbs ending with the sound of /d/ or /t/ is pronounced with the ending of /id/. Please note that it's the sound and not the letter which you have to pay attention to. For example, depend /dɪˈpend/ --> depended /dɪˈpendid/, want /wɒnt/ --> wanted /'wɒntid/.

If in doubt of the ending sound, consult the dictionary.

To identify when to pronounce the past with a /d/ or a /t/ is somewhat trickier. The rule is that if the ending sound is voiced, it is pronounced with a /d/ and if it is voiceless, it is pronounced with a /t/.

All vowels are voiced, so you 'only' have to worry about the consonants. When you make a voiced sound, your throat vibrates whereas when you make a voiceless sound, it is just air coming out of your mouth. You can hear the difference by trying this test: cover your ears and say 'save' /seɪv/ and 'cough' /kɒf/. You will find that you can feel a vibration at the end of 'save' and not 'cough', which means 'saved' will be pronounced /seɪvd/, while 'cough' will be pronounced /kɒft/.

Try practising the pronunciation of some words using the method mentioned above before attempting this game. The idea is to drag-and-drop each item in the correct bin as fast as you can. If your answer is wrong, you won't be allowed to put the word in that bin, and you'll have to try again.

Have fun!

Note to teachers: you are welcome to use any of the activities found here in this blog. You can have the students do them in the computer lab, or set them as homework and asking them to state their scores in the comments section. If you do the latter, please ask your students to give some information which will allow you to identify them. They don't have to give their surname if they don't want to, but information like their first name, the name of the school, the class, and the teacher's name are all useful identifiers, e.g. Jesús V./4ºA/Rincón/Chiew.

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New Macmillan Coursebook! Global

Macmillan has published a new 6-level course for adults, entitled GLOBAL. The marketing boys has promised us that these course books offer something different to what has been available up till now, from the book design to the philosophy behind the course. They are so confident we will be wooed that they're offering a free download of one full unit, which we are free to use in the class. You can get it here.

I for one can't wait to try it out in the classroom!

Irregular Past Simple Arcade Game (Elementary)

The infinitive form of a verb will be shown at the bottom of the game screen. You then have to click on its past tense/past participle form which appears above. Before you click to start each level, read the past tense forms first. See how fast you can go, and try to get to Level 6! Each time you play, there will be a different selection, so play it as many times as you wish and tell me your best scores!

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