standard_description: Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, “How old am I?” is not a statistical question, but “How old are the students in my school?” is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students’ ages.
problem_activity: Warm-up
The purpose of this warm-up is to reinforce the distinction between statistical and non-statistical questions. Students write a statistical question and articulate why it qualifies as statistical. Students’ explanations should focus on the variability in the data used to answer the question. The context will be used again in the next activity, so this also gets students familiar with the object.
Launch
Arrange students in groups of 3–4. Give students 1 minute of quiet work time. Then, tell students to share their question and reasoning within their group. Tell the groups to decide if each question is statistical or non-statistical. If the group disagrees, discuss the question further and revise it until an agreement is reached.
Student Facing
Clare collects bottle caps and keeps them in plastic containers.
[IMG]
Write one statistical question that someone could ask Clare about her collection. Be prepared to explain your reasoning.
Student Response
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Activity Synthesis
The purpose of the discussion is to ensure students are comfortable constructing statistical and non-statistical questions.
Ask students to share their statistical questions and reasoning. If possible, ask students to refer back to the image as they share. Record and display their responses for all to see.
To involve more students in the conversation, consider asking some of the following questions:
“Were there any questions your group had in common?”
“Were there any questions your group could not agree were statistical? Why?”
“Were there any questions your group decided were non-statistical? What made that question non-statistical?”


aligns: yes