Montana Math MT.7.SP.1

Math7th GradeStatistics and Probability

The Standard

Understand statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a representative sample of the population.

2026 Montana Mathematics Content Standards

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify the group they want to learn about, then choose a smaller group that reflects it. They explain why asking only one kind of person can give misleading results.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain why drawing names from a school roster gives a better picture of schoolwide lunch preferences than asking only friends. They can say which group the results might describe.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think a large sample is fair even if everyone surveyed comes from one class. They may treat a sample result as an exact count for the whole school.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: To learn what all students think of school lunch choices, would you survey 40 cafeteria customers or 40 names drawn from the school roster? Explain your choice.

Lesson moves

Draw five names from a cup for an apple-or-orange preference poll, then compare their answers with a whole-class tally.
Ask, 'Would asking only your friends tell us what all seventh graders want for lunch?' Have students write one reason.
Give pairs three sample cards for a schoolwide lunch poll: friends, one class, and names drawn from the school roster; have them rank the cards.
Show a mock town park survey of only park visitors; ask whether the town can use it to plan for all residents.

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