Students hold up their right index finger and the teacher places a red dot at the end of their fingers with a red marker. Divide the class in half. Have students form two large circles. This activity works very well outside on the playground. Choose one student in each group to record the data and another student to count the number of trials.
Students toss an inflatable globe around the circle.
When they catch the globe, they note where their right index finger lands, water or land, and report the results to the recorder. After each group makes 50 tosses, the data from both groups are added together making a total of 100 trials. Discuss the results after a few trials. Encourage students to observe patterns that emerge as the number of simulations increase. Assist students in understanding that increasing the number of trials helps them make a more accurate prediction.