Most people are right-handed, which means they use their right hand to write and generally feel stronger using their right side. However, there are people out there who are left-handed, which means that they write with their left hand, and probably pour drinks, brush their hair, and do lots of other things lefty. It might feel strange to be the only left-handed person in your family or class, but we know that being lefty isn’t bad at all. You will, however, have to get a different-shaped glove to play catch.
Wee ones (counting on fingers): How many people in your family are left-handed…and so then how many are right-handed?
Little kids: If your class has 23 kids and 4 of them are left-handed, how many right-handed kids are in your class? Bonus: If half of those 4 left-handed kids can also write just as well with their right hands (meaning they are “ambidextrous”), how many right hands in the class can write?
Big kids: About 1 out of every 10 people in the world is left-handed, but of the last 20 presidents, 7 have been left-handed! How many more left-handed presidents is that than if only 1 out of every 10 had been left-handed? Bonus: There was just 1 left-handed president before these 20, which means that only 8 out of our 45 presidents have been left-handed. So how many were right-handed?
Answers:
Wee ones: Different for everyone…count the number of lefties, and then subtract from the total number of people in your family.
Little kids: 19 people. Bonus: 21 right hands: the 19 righties, plus the 2 both-handed.
Big kids: 5 more presidents, as probability says there should have been only 2! Bonus: 37 right-handers.
