Dear Mrs. McBride & Our Blog Buddies!!
We are learning about the chances of something happening. This is called probability. We have been playing with dice and spinners and popsicle sticks and checking out the weather.
We know it is impossible for:
~ a pig to fly
~ that is will rain pop
~ that Ryan will stay home from school today
~ that superheros are real
~ that it will rain popcorn
It is unlikely for:
~ for the power to go out
~ that it will be a snow day
~ that Brian will buy a new car
It is likely for:
~ for us to come to school tomorrow
~ Ms. King to eat lunch
~ for us to drink water every day
~ for us to have Track & Field next week
It is certain that:
~ that we have to breathe air
~ that we had recess once already today
~ Mrs. Gregus is here
~ everyone has parents even if they don’t live with them
What is the probability of it raining today at your school?
What is the probability of your class going on a class trip?
We hope to hear from you soon!
From,
Ms. King & the Busy Bees
Leigh Cassell Consulting 
Dear Busy Bees,
It was so interesting reading your list of the different things that you said were impossible, unlikely, likely or certain. We thought some things on your list were really cool that we never would have thought of saying. Some things we thought we funny like it is impossible it will rain popcorn. : ) We are going to make a list on our blog to because this seems fun. We noticed that you did not include things that had an even chance – we learned about this one yesterday. It was really hard to think of events where the probability can be described as having an even chance. We thought we’d send you some of these things we thought of. Can you think of any to send us?
Even Chance:
• If we flip a coin it will land on heads or tails
• It was an even chance that Mrs. Regier’s baby would be a boy or girl
• That Taylor is going to pick up a right shoe or a left shoe to put on first
• There was an even chance that we were going to be on a red or blue team for jump rope for heart activities.
• There was an even chance Mrs. McBride could have written our team number on our right or left hand
Some other probability things we discussed:
• It was impossible to know exactly when Mrs. Regier was going to have her baby
• It is likely that it is going to rain today
• The probability of us going on a class trip is very likely
Questions:
What is the probability of you guys going on a class trip for the end of the year?
What is the probability of you being sad if you don’t?
What is the probability of us meeting you in person?
Looking forward to the next time!
Sincerely,
Grade 2 McBride Crew
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Dear Grade 2 McBride Crew,
Thanks for your awesome comments in response!
We have been learning about things that have an even chance but we have been calling it equally likely to occur. You guys had some great examples and it was hard for us to think of different ones! Things that are equally likely or have an even chance that we have been exploring are:
It is equally likely to get an even number or an odd number when you roll a dice.
It is equally likely for Connor to play on his swing set or his trampoline when he gets home from school.
It is equally likely to be on team 1 or team 2 for hit and sit.
Questions:
What is the probability of you guys going on a class trip for the end of the year?
Ms King & Mrs. Cassell say it is very likely we will go on a class trip, but they won’t tell us where yet!
What is the probability of you being sad if you don’t?
It is very unlikely because it is very likely for us to go on a trip.
What is the probability of us meeting you in person?
It is unlikely to meet you in person but it is very likely that we could video conference with you instead. You never know if we might cross paths otherwise one day!!
Ms. King says we are going to get to do some probability experiments in some centres to see what we think will happen and what actually do happen!
Have a great day of learning!!
From,
The Busy Bees!
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