Vocabulary Of Chance Lesson Plan for 4th Grade Students

Topic: Vocabulary of Chance

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to define and use words such as "likely," "unlikely," "certain," and "possible" to describe the likelihood of an event occurring.

Materials

• Word cards with the words "likely," "unlikely," "certain," "possible," and "impossible"
• Examples of events that are likely or unlikely (e.g. it's likely to rain tomorrow, it's unlikely that a bear will come into the classroom)
• Pencils and paper for students to practice using the words to describe the likelihood of an event

Warm-Up

• Begin by showing a set of cards with various events written on them (e.g. it will rain tomorrow, a bear will come into the classroom). Ask the students to volunteer to raise their hand if they think the event is likely to happen. After a few volunteers, ask the students to raise their hand if they think the event is unlikely to happen. Continue until all the events have been evaluated.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the vocabulary of chance by explaining that we use words and phrases to describe the likelihood of an event happening.
• Show the cards with the various events again and have the students name the words that they think describe whether the event is likely or unlikely to happen.
• Discuss the meaning of each word and how it relates to the likelihood of an event happening. For example, "likely" means that it is more probable that the event will happen, and "unlikely" means that it is less probable that the event will happen.
• Use the cards to model how to write sentences using the appropriate words to describe the likelihood of an event. For example, "It is likely that it will rain tomorrow" and "It is unlikely that a bear will come into the classroom."

Guided Practice

• Divide the students into small groups and give each group a set of cards with various events on them.
• Have the students use the words and phrases on the cards to make sentences that describe the likelihood of the events happening.
• Have the students share their sentences with the group and discuss the meaning of the words they used.
• As a class, create a word wall display with the words and phrases used in the activity.

Independent Practice

• Have the students work in small groups to come up with a list of events that could happen in their classroom.
• Have the groups create a poster or presentation to communicate their list of events to the class.
• Have the students vote on which events they think are the most -likely to happen and which are the least likely to happen.
• Have the students share their poster or presentation with the class and explain their choices.

Closure

• Review the words and phrases used to describe the likelihood of an event occurring.
• Ask the students to share one example of each phrase from the lesson.
• Ask the students to think of one event that could happen in their classroom and explain how they would describe the likelihood of it happening.

Assessment

• Observe the students during the independent practice activity and look for understanding of the different language used to describe the likelihood of an event occurring.
• Collect the students' written examples and use them to assess their understanding of the different language used to describe likelihood.