Sixth Grade · Math · week 33

Mean, median, mode, and range

Calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of a data set, and explain what each measure describes.

The MEAN, or average, is found by adding all the values and dividing by how many there are. The MEDIAN is the middle value when the data is ordered from least to greatest, or the average of the two middle values if there is an even count.

The MODE is the value that appears most often - a data set can have one mode, more than one, or no mode at all. The RANGE is the spread of the data: the greatest value minus the least value.

Mean and median both describe a "typical" value, but median is less affected by one extreme number, called an outlier, since it only cares about position, not size.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Practice ordering the data FIRST before finding the median - an unordered list gives the wrong middle value.
  • For an even number of values, remind them to average the two middle numbers for the median.
  • Discuss how one extreme value can drag the mean far from what feels "typical," while the median stays stable.
  • Have them find all four measures for the same small data set, so they see how each one tells a different part of the story.
Talk about it:
  • Why do you have to order the data before finding the median?
  • How can one very large or very small number affect the mean much more than the median?
  • Why might a data set have no mode, or more than one mode?

Mastery looks like: They correctly calculate mean, median, mode, and range for a data set and explain what each measure tells about the data.

Common stumbles: Finding the median without ordering the data first; confusing mode, the most frequent value, with median, the middle position.

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