Week In Review, Week 2

What a week! This week was full of action and exploration. I began teaching the kids how to do tree diagrams and what they are used for. Tree diagrams are used to list all the possible outcomes of an event. They are very similar to sample spaces (which do the same thing), but the tree diagram shows how the outcomes came to be, whereas the sample space is just the list or number of the outcomes. Furthermore (and this is the key point here), the difference between tree diagrams and sample space is while the tree diagram does show all of the possible outcomes, you don't need the tree diagram to calculate probabilities. On the other hand, you can't calculate a probability without knowing the sample space.

By the way, this week we also studied the Fundamental Counting Principle, which is a faster way to determine outcomes without having to draw a tree diagram. As the week came to a close, we began to study compound independent events, and inclusive events. I like the enthusiasm that I see in my kids! They seem to like being in my class, and I must say, I like having them here! They are a great bunch of children, and I love the fact that so many of them have a real desire to learn. They have taken to the lessons and with the journals in a surprising way!

I'll have the preview of next week's lessons on this blog on Sunday Afternoon! See you then!