Math Topic Data Collection, Graphing, and Data Analysis Common Core State Standards Standards for Mathematical

Practice 1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 4 Model with mathematics. 6 Attend to precision. Standards for Mathematical Content 4.MD Represent and interpret data. Learning Goals Determine a reasonable data collection topic. Use a chart to collect accurate data. Choose an appropriate way to display collected data: chart, graph, timeline, etc. Accurately and clearly represent data using chosen method. Helpful Prerequisite Knowledge/ Timing of Lesson(s) within Unit Students should have a general idea of how to collect data. They should know that the number of tallies they have should equal the number of people surveyed. A discussion could ensue about the appropriateness of using various types of charts and graphs to represent data most appropriately. Since data collection and graphing is usually a topic of review by 4th grade, the following lessons can be used to introduce a unit on data collection and analysis, taking what the students already know a step or two further. For the line plot lesson, it would be helpful to know how to order fractions. Citation of Trade Book Whitehead Nagda, A., & Bickel, C. (2002). Chimp math: Learning about time from a baby chimpanzee. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. Synopsis of Trade Book Chimp Math tells the story of an abandoned baby chimp at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas. The zookeepers care for Jiggs, the chimp, until he is able to move to the zoos primate house, and eventually to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. The book is set up with math concepts on one side of its two-page spread and the story of Jiggs on the other.

The math part of the book contains timelines of a typical day, bar graphs of weight growth, and charts of major events, all relating to Jiggs. Lesson Description Data Collection and Graphing Part I This lesson, adapted from Math and Nonfiction (Sheffield & Gallagher, 2004), gives students the opportunity to choose a method for displaying data. 1. Read Chimp Math aloud to the class. Point out the various ways data is represented in the book. 2. Discuss the idea of milestones, especially baby milestones, with the class. 3. Using the book Chimp Math, decide which baby milestones the class would like to compare in their lives and in Jiggs life. They should be milestones that are represented in the book but are also possible to find out from parents. Record this information for easy data collection. 4. Direct students to collect the information decided on by the class with the help of their parents. 5. Display Jiggs information for the same baby milestones so that students can include both sets of data in their chosen representation. 6. Students create a bar graph, chart, timeline, etc. comparing their data with Jiggss data. Lesson Extension To extend this lesson, children could collect their own data to create a double bar graph. They could be responsible for choosing the topic of data collection, setting up a tally chart, surveying classmates or family members, and accurately creating a graph of the data collected.

Differentiation Students are able to decide how to represent their data. Students who struggle may choose to set up a simple chart with columns for their data and Jiggss data. Other students may choose to create a double bar graph displaying their data side by side visually and in color. Still others may decide to create a timeline documenting the two sets of data. If students follow up with the lesson extension, differentiation is present in the choice of topic to be surveyed and the size and make-up of the population. Some students may choose to stick with a single bar graph, while others may create a double bar graph. Citation of Trade Book Frost, H., & Lieder, R. (2012). Step gently out. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. Synopsis of Trade Book Frosts (2012) poem is accompanied by up close pictures of insects on a blade of grass, a leaf, flower, or web. Frost (2012) encourages the reader to stop and look closely at her environment, to notice the small creatures that share the world with her. Although the book contains no math content, it can be used to introduce the idea of insects, their size, and how they can evade us unless we pay close attention. Connections can extend to a more metaphorical meaning, such as stepping outside of ourselves and noticing others and our world. Lesson Description Data Collection and Graphing Part II Note: This lesson can be used as part of the data collection and graphing unit, or as part of the fraction unit, as some knowledge of fractions is required for this lesson.

After reading the book Step Gently Out, introduce the idea of investigating insects in the area in which you live. Use the information gathered to create a line plot. 1. Read the poem aloud and show the pictures to the class. 2. Briefly discuss the description of the insects shown in the book using the information and pictures at the end of the book. 3. Gather information ahead of time, or have students gather information, about local insects, especially their length. Choose insects whose length is stated in a fraction of an inch. 4. Quickly mention a fact or two about the insect before locating the insects length and recording it on a sheet of paper. 5. After all lengths have been recorded, order the fractions with the class. Discuss the fact that each data point is no longer connected to its insect, but is simply a piece of data. For example, if the black fly, the dusky sap beetle, and the white apple leaf hopper all measure 1/8 inch, then 1/8 inch would be recorded three times and would no longer have a connection to the particular insects. 6. Use the data to create a line plot. 7. Stress the following: a. If there is a number between two numbers in the data set that has no data attached to it, it should still be included on the line plot. For example, if there is data for 1/2 and 3/4, but not for 5/8, 5/8 should still be included on the line plot. b. Intervals should be evenly spaced on the number line. c. Label the number line; in this case it would be inches.

d. The Xs that represent each piece of data should be evenly spaced and uniformly sized as not to skew the plot. e. The number of Xs should match the amount of data collected. 8. Once the line plot is created, work through several computation problems using the information on the line plot. For example: If you lined the insects up from end to end, what would the length of the line be? After working through several problems as a class, let students work together to create additional problems to be solved by their peers and checked with the class. Differentiation When used with a whole class, this lesson is not differentiated. However, the lesson can be used to introduce the idea of line plots. Then, each student could choose a topic for data collection. Some students may want to stick with whole numbers, while others may search for data containing fractions. Students could collect data about animals or other topics of current study, or they could simply survey their classmates and use the data to create line plots. This particular lesson works well to introduce line plots in the fraction unit in this document.