A distribution is the full set of values, not a headline. Two tools help you read it, and this is the first time we meet them by name.

The mean is the average: add every value, then divide by how many there are.

The median is the middle value once the numbers are lined up from smallest to largest. If there are two middle numbers, take the midpoint between them.

Next you will read both on a live chart. That is where you will see what each one does.

Open the interactive. Follow the prompts on screen with your partner. First read the mean and the median on the starting set before anyone changes a value. Be ready to say which number you would trust to describe this group, and why.

Then read the board snapshot of real water-access figures:

Who has safely managed drinking water? (WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme estimates, early 2020s, rounded for class)

• Ireland: more than 9 people in every 10
• World as a whole: about 7 people in every 10
• Lowest-access regions: about 3 people in every 10

What pattern of inequality do these three numbers show about how a basic resource is shared locally and globally?

In your book, write one sentence that would describe the nine-person water set honestly to somebody who had not seen the chart. State which summary you would trust for this set, the mean or the median, and why. Mention the spread or the gap between people if it helps your case.

A few of you will read your sentence aloud. We will hear both mean-with-caveats answers and median-first answers. Listen for what makes a description honest rather than neat.

You can now:

• read a distribution as a full set of values, not a single headline
• find and compare the mean and the median, and say which you would trust for a given set
• read real local and global figures for a basic resource and name a pattern of inequality

That skill matters every time one number is asked to stand for many lives.