Sammie Larson Jennie Aten Rebecca Williams Technology Web 2.

0 Lesson Plan 4-14-11 Title: Data Collection and Creating Graphs Grade Level/Subject: 5th grade Prerequisite Knowledge (if applicable): Know the differences in various types of charts and graphs such as pie charts, bar graphs, and line graphs Approximate time for entire lesson: 50 60 minutes Student Objectives - Students will be able to collect data from classmates and analyze it using the accompanying web 2.0 application - Students will be able to enter data into the appropriate blank fields that are provided for each graph type on the web 2.0 application - Students will be able to select the graph that best represents their data collection Illinois Standards (include technology standards NETS) - 3.b: Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media -3.d.: Process data and report results Materials/Resources/Technology Computers, pencil/paper (to record survey data), access to web 2.0 application (Kids Zone Create a Graph): http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx?ID=2ee5d373b81c4bd2ad3e3651a6161af5 Implementation/Procedure: 1.) Let the students know that they are going to be learning how to collect data and then make online graphs using the data that they find. Explain to the students that they will have the opportunity to choose a research question and then interview their classmates based on that research question. 2.) After dividing students into groups of 4 to 5, explain that the interview question that they ask of fellow students must allow for answers that can be translated quantitatively. (If the survey question is asking about favorite color, make sure to include a list of prerequisite colors including an other option.) Questions can be yes or no questions or may have choices; it is up to the students. 3.) Ask students to provide examples of interview questions that they could use. What questions do you think would provide answers that could make good graphs? Good examples of interview questions include shoe size, number of pets the student owns, the number of siblings a student has, how many TVs in the house, number of rooms

in the house, how many times the student has moved in his/her life, and pairs of shoes the student owns. Examples that would not work for this project include asking about favorite food without providing a few select options so as to better consolidate the data and make it graph-able. The goal of this is for students to see a trend in the data and not have random categories to which only one student responds. 4.) Conduct a quick mini-survey with the class in order to show how we would collect data with numerical values as answers. For instance, ask the students how many pencils they have in their desks at that given moment. Have students raise their hands if they have 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. pencils in their desks. Organize this information by writing it down on an overhead, whiteboard, or other type of projector so that the students can see an efficient way to collect and organize data. Perhaps making a chart would be suitable for some learners. 5.) Introduce students to the idea of a constituent which is the population that they are interviewing. Explain that today we will be using the class as their constituent; everyone will interview the same demographic and number of students. Give students a few minutes to come up with their survey question and come up with a way to collect and keep track of their data. For example, if students want to ask about favorite colors, have them write down the options of red, blue, green, yellow, and other on a sheet of paper. Then, groups will take turns presenting their question to the class, reading out the possible options, and ask students to raise their hands in response to the options they want to choose for that particular question. Therefore, the group that is collecting information about colors will see that 5 students raised their hands for red, 4 raised their hands for blue, etc. 6.) Once all groups have had the opportunity to collect their data, explain that they will be using the Kids Zone Create a Graph 2.0 application to display the data on a chart or graph. Using the results from the mini-survey that was conducted in class earlier, open up the Create a Graph web site. When explaining the web site, focus on the design and the data tabs, but also let the students know that there are other tabs they may explore on their own later. Point out that there are descriptions and helpful hints on the left side of the screen to guide their exploration. 7.) In the design tab, show students that there are several different graphs/charts from which to choose; Bar, line, area, pie, an X-Y. Select the bar graph option as an initial example. Select a direction, shape, and background color for the graph, again letting students know that they have the opportunity to explore these options more in depth later. 8.) Next, show students the data tab. Enter an appropriate title, x-axis, and y-axis as determined by the class. The source can be something along the lines of Miss Jones Fifth Grade Class. Explain that the items pull-down menu represents the number of choices the students gave in their surveys or how many answers they received in response to their question. Tell students that the groups will stay at 1 because we only have one interview question and thus only one set of data. 9.) Proceed to fill in the item fields with the appropriate item labels and responses. In our example, labels for how many pencils that are in the desk should be 0, 1, 2, etc. The corresponding values are how many people have each specific number of pencils in their desks. (Five people (value) have 2 pencils (item label) in their desks.) 10.) Once the interview data is entered into the graph application, show students that

they can preview their graph by clicking on the preview tab. Tell them if their graphs look accurate and presentable, they should select the save/print tab to save and then print their work. 11.) After the full demonstration is complete, make sure to ask if there are any questions and address them. Once any questions are addressed, allow students time to enter their own data into different graph types and explore the different tabs and formatting features. Remind students that after they have had time to experiment with the various graphs that they need to determine the best graph type for their data set. The graph type one group chooses may be different from the graph type chosen by another group, depending on the survey question and the data. (Ex: A yes/no survey question would probably be best represented using a bar graph, whereas a survey question with choices could be represented using a bar or circle graph). Have students put any final touches on the graph they have created and then print it out. Groups will present their data and graphs one at a time for the class. 12.) Once all groups have presented their information, start the conclusion of the lesson by asking some critical thinking questions to be discussed in the groups or as a whole class: How would our data change if we used a different demographic? How would our data change if we had more than one data set? What conclusions can we draw from our graph? 13.) As an informal assessment, monitor the groups presentations of their graphs. Ask them questions such as: Why did you choose this type of graph to represent your data? How did you decide to ask that particular interview question? How did you collect your data? What was the easiest or most difficult thing about the assignment or using the web 2.0 application? Allow their classmates to ask questions of them as well or open up the discussion of appropriate graph type to the class. If there is a continuous trend among the class where it appears as if they are not exactly sure what graph types are most appropriate at specific times, it may make sense to develop some kind of follow-up lesson in the future. If just a few students seem to be struggling, make sure to meet with these students later and perhaps go through the Create a Graph option with them in more detail.