6.13.B

Math6th Grade

The Standard

distinguish between situations that yield data with and without variability

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do

Students decide whether collecting data for a question is likely to produce different values or one fixed value. They explain what causes the values to differ or stay the same.

What Mastery Looks Like

Students correctly predict whether collected results will differ across people, objects, or repeated trials. They justify each choice by naming what could change or remain fixed.

Common Misconceptions

Students may think every question produces a range of answers. They may also confuse variation in collected measurements with mistakes made while measuring.

How to Assess It

Give students three questions: “How many students are present?”, “What are their heights?”, and “What grade are they in?” Ask them to label each result as varying or fixed and explain why.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

  1. Have groups measure five classmates’ hand spans, then record whether the values differ and explain why.

  2. Ask students to compare “What is our class size?” with “How many siblings do students have?” and explain which answers can differ.

  3. Play a sorting game with question cards, placing each under “same result” or “different results,” then defend disputed choices.

  4. Compare one cereal box’s printed net weight with the actual weights of several boxes and discuss why measured results may vary.

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