Math Lesson Plan: Percentages

Objective: Students will be able to find the percentage of a number.

Lesson Opening

1. We are almost finished with our unit on percents, decimals and fractions. Soon, we will be on to other subjects, like graphs, negative numbers, division and much more. For now, however, I would like to wrap up our unit on percents, decimals and fractions with a fun lesson that combines all three.

1. You already know how to compare fractions, decimals and percents. Today, you will be doing an experiment and testing your hypothesis. In order to do this experiment correctly, you need to know how to use fractions, decimals and percents and how to compare them.

Guided Practice

1. If you flip a coin, what are the chances that it turns up heads? Any way you look at it, the answer should be ½ or .5 or 50%. Today, we are going to test that theory with actual coins.

1. However, we aren't going to just flip a coin ten times. If we just did that, then our answer might not be correct because our sample size wouldn't be big enough. So, instead, we are going to flip the coin 25 times.

1. In order to do this experiment correctly, you need to know how to switch between fractions, decimals and percents. Think back to yesterday as to the proper way to switch back and forth.

Independent Practice

1. Students will complete the sheet asking them to flip a coin 25 times. They will record their answers in a table and write their findings on a worksheet that has been handed out.

1. Later, students will flip two coins and write down their findings. They may work with a partner, or use a second coin themselves.

Closing

1. Ask the children to put their answers on the board.