Summary
Students will gather a variety of data and create a graphs to display the data.
Materials
- Tiger Math by Ann Whitehead Nagda
- Post-it® notes
- Poster board
- Clipboard
- Tally sheet
- Pencil
- Handout (pdf)
- Graphing Ideas
- Ideas For Gathering Data
- Tips on Building Great
Graphs
- Make a Graph From the Internet
- Graph Illustrations
- Grid paper
- Colored markers
- Large clay flower pot
- Lengths of yarn for
each student in the class
- Paper
- Circle patterns
- Rulers
- Overhead projector and
transparencies of bar
graph, circle graph, and
other samples
- Math journal
Additional Resources
Books
- Tiger Math, by Ann Whitehead Nagda; ISBN 0805062483
- Math At Hand, by Great Source Education Group Staff;
ISBN 0-669-46922-X
- Creative Graphing Book
- Hands-On Statistics, Probability, and Graphing, Grades 3-8, by Scott
Purdy; ISBN 0927723114
- Lemonade For Sale, by Stuart J. Murphy; ISBN 0-06-446715-5
- "Graphs Bulletin Board Set" (Nasco catalog) TBI8290(X)TB
Background for Teachers
Displaying data clearly can help you prove a point. It can also help
you to discover patterns/trends in your data. Clear displays can help you
see trends, make predictions, and compare ideas. Graphs help you to see
the “big picture” hidden in your data.
A big part of showing data clearly is choosing which kind of graph to
use. You might use a Venn Diagram to show how the students’ family
pet data are related to each other. You might choose a line graph to show
how a baby tiger gains weight as it grows. To compare the number of
games your favorite team has won, you might select a bar graph. Only
introduce one graph per day.
The most effective way to introduce young children to the concept of
gathering data and transferring that data onto a graph is to start with a
pictograph, and then gradually explore the many and varied kinds of
graphs as new and different data are gathered. Keeping a math journal as
you go is also very important to help children see their progress and
review concepts.
Intended Learning Outcomes
4. Communicate mathematically.
5. Make mathematical connections.
6. Represent mathematical situations.
Instructional Procedures
Invitation to Learn
Read Tiger Math. Teachers should only read aloud one page per day.
Guiding questions: What are the different kinds of graphs that were
used to show the tiger’s growth? How do graphs show “the big
picture?”
Instructional Procedures
- Draw a graph on poster board. On the x-axis, list several fast food
restaurants in your area. On the y-axis, list numbers 1-15. Name
your graph Favorite Fast Food Restaurants.
- Give each student a Post-it® note. Have him/her write his/her
name and favorite fast food restaurant on it. Each student will
stick his/her Post-it® on the correct location on the graph to show
a “representation” graph. This is a quick and simple method to
introduce graphing.
- Use the Tips On Building Great Graphs chart to discuss.
- One person takes a survey: “What is your favorite kind of potato
dish?” Convert tally sheet into a frequency table.
- Have the students make a real bar graph in the classroom. Ask
them to arrange themselves in a bar graph form to illustrate data
(e.g., “What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?....chocolate,
vanilla, or strawberry?”).
- Create a bar graph from the data using a different colored bar for
each item. Use overhead projector to illustrate; each person makes his/her
own bar graph.
- Using flower pot and twine, show how you can use people to
make a circle graph. Lay the flower pot upside down. The pieces
of yarn should be equivalent to the number of students. Tie one
end of pieces of yarn together and insert through the hole.
Students will transform the bar graph into a circle graph.
- Using this data, create a circle graph, using same colors as on the
bar graph. Use overhead projector to illustrate; each person makes his/her
own circle graph.
- Place graphs in a math journal.
Extensions
- Make a Graph From the Internet.
- Make entries in your daily math journal.
- Examples of graphing data from 4th grade curriculum:
“What is your favorite kind of rock?”
“What is your favorite kind of weather?”
“What is your favorite place to visit in Utah?”
“What country in Asia would you like to visit?”
Family Connections
- Assign students to take a survey at home and make one or more
graphs showing the data resulting from the survey.
- Using the previously mentioned graph(s), write three questions to
show correct interpretation of the data.
Assessment Plan
- Give each student a clipboard and tally sheet; ask him/her to
make up his/her own question and transfer the resulting data into
various kinds of graphs.
- Reading graphs: Ask questions, verbally or written, to test
students’ ability to interpret data on various kinds of graphs.
(Example: During which month of the year did Utah have the
greatest and least amounts of precipitation?”)
- On a different day, ask students to use the same data as gathered
previously to create a different kind of graph. Plan to graph at
least twice a month, and add these graphs to their math journals. This will provide the teacher with student work showing progress,
indicating graphing content needing clarification.
Created: 10/15/2004
Updated: 02/05/2018
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