TITLE/TYPE OF ACTIVITY

How tall are we?

CONTEXT OF ACTIVITY This activity would begin a unit on data anaylsis and graphing. Students will have previously studied the different types of graphs: circle, bar, picture, histogram, stem and leaf, and line graphs. CONCEPTS TO BE COVERED This activity uses childrens literature, technology, graphs, and hands on learning to explore and interpret data sets. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING 4.14 The student will collect, organize, display, and interpret data from a variety of graphs. 5.15 The student, given a problem situation, will collect, organize, and interpret data in a variety of forms, using stem-and-leaf plots and line graphs. 6.14 The student, given a problem situation, will a) construct circle graphs; b) draw conclusions and make predictions, using circle graphs; and c) compare and contrast graphs that present information from the same data set. The focus of this lesson is based on Standard 6.14C. The other SOLs listed are related and provided for those interested in data analysis in the elementary school grade levels. LESSON PLAN OBJECTIVES 1. Students will compare and contrast different graphical representations of the same data sets 2. Students will analyze data from two data displays ASSESSMENT PLAN 1. Students will create an accurate visual representation of the data set. 2. Students will use their results to complete a graph analysis questionnaire. MATERIALS NEEDED The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy 6 pieces of chart paper Markers Measuring sticks (at least one per group- 3 groups) Information cards on the types of graphs: circle, stem and leaf, and bar graph Class set of graph questionnaire Challenge and remedial problems copied ARTICLE REACTION I chose this article because I wanted to learn more about young childrens concept and understanding of comparing data sets. This may seem like an easy topic for adults to understand but there are multiple important mathematical ideas that come into play when analyzing data sets. There are multiple ways of displaying the distribution of data. A

graph of a data set is one way to display the distribution; numeral summaries and measure of spread also provide useful information about a distribution. This lesson focuses on the graphing of data and deciding whether two data sets are roughly similar or clearly different. Deciding whether two data sets are similar or different consists essentially in deciding whether the distributions of the data sets are similar or different. A way to interpret the distribution of data is to analyze the ranges and the measures of central tendencies. This part of the article I am not using for my lesson plan as it will be discussed in another classmates lesson. Another way to interpret the distribution of data is to look at its physical shape. This section I have found to be extremely helpful in regards to this lesson plan. A mound-shaped distribution or otherwise known as a bell curve, is generally symmetric. Most of the values will fall in the middle of the range. Students will be able to draw conclusions based on where most of the values fall. A U-shaped distribution has two peaks, one at the upper extreme and one at the lower extreme. In terms of height this kind of distribution would suggest that there are a lot of really short people and there are a lot of really tall people in the class (not so much average). A uniform distribution, meaning each value is approximately equally likely to occur, would suggest that there are a mix of heights in the class, equally distributed. Lastly, a skewed left or right distribution shows that the cluster of data is at one extreme of the distribution. In terms of height this would mean that most of the class was extremely tall or extremely short. This is helpful for analyzing the bar graphs that will be created. For the other graphs that will be shown to the class, different measures of data will be looked at. In a circle graph we will be looking at percentages. In a stem and leaf plot, you would focus on the measures of central tendencies to compare data. Finally, the article gave me information about how students typically reason about data. They often approach the task of comparing data sets by focusing on specific values. I hope to explore further by looking at the shapes of distribution. Another common way for students to compare data sets is by comparing the middle clump of each data set. When asked to compare the heights of basketball players and us, I am not looking to compare the mode of each group (which is common for students to do) but to find the difference between the two typical values of the data sets. MODIFICATIONS Challenge: For students/groups who finish early and need an additional challenge, I will ask them to use the same data sets and graphical representation to create another graph; only this time they must change the scale. They will then see how data can be skewed or shown differently. They will draw conclusions about their new graph and write a five sentence paragraph comparing and contrasting the original and new. Remediation: For students who are struggling to create the graphs I will provide them with a copy of a bar graph that I have previously created. They may compare data with the representation already done so that the first step is already done for them. If they are having problems finding the answers to the questionnaire I will ask them to simply find the shortest height,

the tallest height, the height that is shown the most, and the height that is shown the least in the data sets. PROCEDURES Before These students have already learned different types of graphs. We will review the names of different types of graphs and focus on what the best way to represent each data set is. I will begin the lesson by reading the Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy. This book is about two animals, a toad, and a lizard, go crazy with graphs in an imaginative look at organizing information. Listeners can learn about bar graphs, pie charts, Venn diagrams, and more. Details about how each graph was made are shown at the end plus instructions for students to make their own. As each graph is mentioned in the story I will place a large copy of that type of graph on the board and write the appropriate name underneath. At the end of the story I will tell the students that we are going to talk about graphs, specifically bar graphs, circle graphs, and stem and leaf plots. We will then go over the SMARTBOARD lesson as a review on the different graphs. Question 1: Who can tell me what a bar graph is? (Possible student answers may include a graph drawn using rectangular bars to show how large each value is, the bars can be horizontal or vertical). Who can tell me what a circle graph is? (possible student answers may include a pie chart, or a circular chart divided into sectors, each sector shows the relative size of each value) Who can tell me what a stem and leaf plot is? (possible student answers include a plot where each data value is split into a "leaf" (usually the last digit) and a "stem" (the other digits), "32" would be split into "3" (stem) and "2" (leaf), or the "stem" values are listed down, and the "leaf" values are listed next to them) Question 2: Are these graphs all the same? Possible student answers They are the same because they all are graphs They are similar because they all represent some kind of data set No, they are all different. Teacher follow-up questions Can we gather different conclusions from different graphs? What kinds of conclusions can we take from a bar graph? How about a circle graph? What kind of values does each show?

Students may use the pictures that I put up on the board to try and answer these follow-up questions. This is all recall and review of information. DURING

I will split the class up into three groups. The first three tables in the class are the first group, the next two tables are the second group, and the final three tables are the third group (COMMUNICATION). Next, I will pass out chart paper, two large pieces per group. The first group will get the circle graph information card, the second group will receive the stem and leaf plot information card, and the last group will receive the bar graph information card. Markers will already be at the table. Before they start creating any graphs we have to collect the data. I will project the basketball player heights using the document camera so that the whole class can see the first data set. Next, we will spend the next 7 minutes collecting data about ourselves (CONNECTIONS). We will measure our own heights. A representative of each group will write each person in their group members height on the board. This will be our second data set. Question 3: What do you notice about the basketball players heights? Any trends? 77 in. 82 in. 81 in. 74 in. 82 in. 84 in. 84 in. 82 in. 77 in. 73 in. 75 in. 81 in. 77 in. 74 in. 83 in. 82 in. 82 in. Teacher follow-up questions What do you think our class biggest height is? How do you think that compares to our classs lowest height? What do you think we could do in order for us to see some trends?

Possible student answers The biggest height is 84 inches. The lowest height is 73 inches. I dont see any trends.

Question 4: Predict whether or not you think our class graphs are going to look different than the basketball player graphs. What do you think they are going to look like? (REASONING AND PROOF) Possible student answers They are going to look like opposites. The graphs are going to look the same. The students (us) are going to be shorter in a bar graph, a lesser percentage in circle Teacher follow-up questions What do you mean by opposites? What do you think is going to be the biggest difference in the graphs? Can you tell me why you think that? Are the values going to have any influence on the appearance of the graph? How do you know this?

graph, and have different measures of central tendencies in the stem and leaf plot. Students will then construct their graphs according to their groups. The first group will create a bar graph displaying the students heights and a bar graph on the second sheet displaying the basketball players heights. The same goes for the circle graph and the stem and leaf plot. Students will have to come up with their own interpretations of the graphs, which is a challenging skill for them. (REPRESENATION) They will have to work together as a group. They will be answering the questionnaire that asks them general comparison questions about the two (See appendix). Students will be instructed to post their graphs on the front board for everyone to see. Question 5: What are you guys noticing about your two graphs? Are any of your predictions correct? Possible student answers Students look shorter The graphs are all showing different information I like this ________ graph better. Teacher follow-up questions How can we see this on our graph representations? What does the circle graph show? What does the stem and leaf plot show? Why do you like that better? What is clearer to see for you with that particular graph?

AFTER Students will look at the graphs on the board and a class discussion will ensue about the questionnaire. Students will share answers about the questionnaire (PROBLEM SOLVING). If there is any discrepancy about the answers to the questions we will go over them as a class. Students will get different answers depending on their graph representations. We will discuss that the reason this happens is because different groups used different scales. The average height should be the same though. Question 6: Can we see the typical height of the students and the basketball players in the circle graphs? Possible student answers No we cant because we cant see the individual heights in inches. Yes we can because we can see which section is the biggest. We can see the typical height better in the bar graph. Teacher follow-up questions But what can we see looking at this graph? Which section is the biggest for the students? For the basketball players? What can we conclude from that? Why is that easier for you to see? Can you see the average height in all of the graph

representations? Question 7: What do the different graphs tell you about the heights of students and basketball players? Is there any information that one graph will show you that another graph wont? (REASONING AND PROOF) Possible student answers Yes, bar graphs will show the distribution of the data sets No, all graphs show the same information since they use the same values. Stem and leaf plots show the mode. Teacher follow-up questions What kind of distribution are they displaying? Can you see percentages of the population in a bar graph? What about a stem and leaf plot? Is the mode the same thing as the average height? What could we use the mode for?

(There can be a million different answers to this question) Students will turn in the questionnaire as a formal assessment. SMARTBOARD Graphs from SMART exchange serves as a review for our class: http://express.smarttech.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fexchangedownloads.smarttech.com %2Fpublic%2Fcontent%2F52%2F5243967a-fdf3-417b-a1724b668896d1a1%2FTypes%2520of%2520Graphs_SMART%2520Response.notebook Bar graphs and circle graphs are depicted and shown on this smartboard lesson. This can give our class a reminder of what the two types of graphs look like and what they measure. VISUAL REPRESENTATION A poster with different kinds of graphs on them using the same data set NCTM PROCESS STANDARDS See procedure References Bright, G. W., Brewer, W., McClain, K., Mooney, E. S. Navigating Through Data Analysis in Grade 6-8. (2003). National Council of Teacher of Mathematics: Reston, VA.

Brown, A. Types of graphs [SMARTEXCHANGE]. Retrieved from http://exchange.smarttech.com/ Leedy, Loreen. The Great Graph Contest. (2006). Holiday House: New York, NY. Van De Walle, John & Lovin, LouAnn. (2006). Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Grades 305. Pearson Learning: Boston, MA.