Lesson 1

The mathematical purpose of this lesson is to recognize the purposes of and differences among sample surveys, experiments, and observational studies. Students begin to understand statistics as a process for making inferences about population parameters based on data from a statistical study. They also critique and evaluate reports based on data and how the data are collected. The work of this lesson connects to previous work because students interpreted categorical and quantitative data, and investigated data using conditional probability and the rules of probability. The work of this lesson connects to upcoming work because students will critique and evaluate reports from popular media based on the data and how the data were collected. When students articulate things they notice and things they wonder about the headlines and a graph describing data, students have an opportunity to attend to precision in the language they use to describe what they see (MP6). The “take turns” task gives students opportunities to analyze statements and structures closely and make connections (MP2, MP7).