Chance lessons are clearer when students can predict an outcome, run trials and then compare their results with what they expected to happen.
The Daily Maths Review Probability Lab runs weighted spinner trials, coin flips and bag draws. It records tallies, counts and percentages, and the results can be copied or opened in the graph maker for a shared display.
Start with a prediction
Before running trials, ask students which result they expect to appear most often and why. This keeps the focus on the chance model rather than only the first result that appears.
- Use coin flips when students are comparing two equal outcomes.
- Use spinner wedges to discuss unequal chances.
- Use bag draws to connect the number of counters to likelihood.
- Run 10 trials first, then 50 or 100 to compare short and longer samples.
Compare expected and collected results
Trial results do not need to match the expected chance exactly. That difference is the useful discussion: why a small sample can look uneven, and why a larger sample often settles closer to the expected percentages.
Run 10 spinner trials and record the most common result, then run 100 trials and open the results in the graph maker.
Use results to choose the next question
If students assume every outcome is equally likely, change the spinner percentages or bag counts and run another batch. Then move into the chance and probability practice app once the class is ready for scored questions.