On a block schedule this is a one day unit. After the introductory reading, break the students into groups and do activity one. Have the students present their questions to the class. Since the focus of this first activity is on the introduction to the modeling process, including the formulation of assumptions and their use in building their model, the activity and class discussions should be fairly open-ended. The reading and questions are designed to give the students practice in analyzing a situation, deciding on questions that need to be asked, and determining what information is needed to help answer the questions.
Discussion can take place among the entire class, or in small groups.
Assign students Homework 1. Annotation of Transparency 1 Define a problem. Here is where the activity and homework are reinforced. Are they asking how likely it is to happen to them. Solve the model.