Before You Read

Key Words

Read these words first. You will see them in the story.

data — a set of numbers we collect, like points in each game.

mean (average) — add all the numbers, then divide by how many there are.

median — the middle number when the data is in order.

mode — the number that appears the most often.

range — the biggest number minus the smallest number.

order the data — put the numbers from least to greatest first.

Part 1 — The Mean (Average)

Coach Dana wrote the points her player scored in 5 games: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. "What is a typical game?" she asked. She found the mean.

Mean = (4 + 6 + 8 + 10 + 12) ÷ 5 = 40 ÷ 5 = 8 points.

Check Your Reading — Q1

How do you find the mean (average)?

Solve It — #1

Find the mean of 2, 4, 6.

Mean:

Part 2 — The Median (Middle)

Next, Coach Dana looked at the median — the middle score. The data was already in order: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. The middle of 5 numbers is the 3rd one.

In order: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. The middle number is 7, so the median is 7.

Check Your Reading — Q2

What must you do before finding the median?

Solve It — #2

Find the median of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.

Median:

Part 3 — The Mode (Most Often)

Coach Dana noticed some scores repeated. The mode is the most common value. In 2, 3, 3, 4, 8, one number shows up twice.

The number 3 appears two times — more than any other — so the mode is 3.

Solve It — #3

Find the mode of 5, 5, 6, 7.

Mode:

Part 4 — The Range (Spread)

Finally, the coach checked the range to see how spread out the scores were. For 3, 8, 15, 2, 10, she found the biggest and the smallest.

Range = biggest − smallest = 15 − 2 = 13.

Solve It — #4

Find the range of 4, 9, 2, 11.

Range:

After You Read — Write About It

Explain the Math in the Story

Pick your level. Use the sentence starters to write 2–4 sentences.

Level 1 — Beginner (finish each sentence):

Level 2 — Intermediate (use these to start):

Write your answer here (included when you print or download):

How You Are Scored

Category	4 — Strong	3 — Proficient	2 — Developing
Reading comprehension	Both reading questions correct with details	1 correct with some detail	Attempts an answer
Math (Solve It)	All 4 answers correct (mean, median, mode, range)	3 correct	2 correct
Writing	Explains the measures using vocabulary (mean, median, mode, range)	Uses some vocabulary; mostly clear	Begins with a starter