Finding the median
Find the median of a data set by putting the values in order and taking the middle value when there is an odd number of values, or the value halfway between the two middle values when there is an even number (so the median need not be one of the data values and need not be a whole number), and explain that the median is a central value of the ordered data: at least half of the values are at or below it and at least half are at or above it
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Finding the median means practising the idea at the table with counters or paper models and one clear check. We will demo once, then your child tries.”
Bring to the table
- Paper strips or a folded circle
- Pencil and labels (1/2, 1/4)
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Fold a strip in half: each piece is 1/2 of the whole.
Optional challenge. For Finding the median, add one harder example after success.
What to notice. Keep one parent note: examples tried; results; support used. This session samples Finding the median, not mastery.
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Teaching approaches
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1 approach
Finding the median means practising the idea at the table with counters or paper models and one clear check. We will demo once, then your child tries.
Materials: Paper strips or a folded circle; Pencil and labels (1/2, 1/4). Adult folds a strip into halves and labels 1/2. Child makes three fair shares (halves/quarters) and names each piece. Done: three correctly named equal parts. Stop after the fresh check; keep optional challenge for another day.
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Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Practice this concept
Start practiceFinding the median practice
Practice key ideas from Finding the median.
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Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Puzzle Times
Before you open · source notes
Puzzle times support finding the median of a data set. Not every mean formula.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk the learner to order the times and name the median.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “Puzzle Times.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Put five values such as 12, 7, 15, 9 and 10 in order and state that the median is 10, the middle value
- Find the median of an even number of values such as 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 by finding the value halfway between the two middle values 7 and 8 (7.5, or 7½)
- Find the median of a data set with repeated values, such as 1, 2, 2, 2, 9 (median 2), and explain that at least half of the values are at or below 2 and at least half are at or above 2
“If your child lines up the number of pages five friends read, can they find the middle number — and work out the median for six friends, even when it falls halfway between two numbers?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Data & Statistics
- Age range
- Ages 9–13
Standards