Beacon Lesson Plan Library

How Do You Get Home from School?

Melissa Lawley

Description

Students use basic computer skills to collect information, generate pictographs, and interpret the results of transportation home from school.

Note: Circulate and formatively assess students as they use the technology tools. Provide assistance for students who are experiencing difficulty and monitor accordingly.

Standards

Florida Sunshine State Standards
MA.E.3.1.1
Designs a simple experiment to answer a class question, collects appropriate information, and interprets the results using graphical displays of information, such as line graphs, pictographs, and charts.

MA.E.3.1.2
The student decides what information is appropriate and how data can be collected, displayed, and interpreted to answer relevant questions.

Florida Process Standards
Information Managers
01 Florida students locate, comprehend, interpret, evaluate, maintain, and apply information, concepts, and ideas found in literature, the arts, symbols, recordings, video and other graphic displays, and computer files in order to perform tasks and/or for enjoyment.

Critical and Creative Thinkers
04 Florida students use creative thinking skills to generate new ideas, make the best decision, recognize and solve problems through reasoning, interpret symbolic data, and develop efficient techniques for lifelong learning.

NETS for Students
3.1
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.

5.2
Students use technology tools to process data and report results.

Materials

-The Graph Club software
-Printer
-Paper
-Presentation system for demonstration

Preparations

1. Preview Graph Club software.
2. Ensure functionality of computer software.
3. Set up printer for printing.

Procedures

The instructions for this lesson are based on Graph Club software.

Instruct students to:
1.Open Graph Club by placing the cursor on the Graph Club icon and clicking.

2.Choose to skip the Introduction.

3.Select the "Playground" and "OK".

4.Select "Explore" and "OK".

5.Look at the symbols/pictures located at the top of the page; these are called BINS.

6.To drag a symbol from the BIN, place cursor on symbol and drop in appropriate column.

7.Experiment with this feature. (Symbols can be erased by clicking on them).

8.Change view to different types of graphs by clicking on the "Graph Type" button at the bottom of the page. Discuss the various types of graphs.

9.To change symbols, click on "Graph" and drag down to choose symbols.

10.Scroll through symbols. To change a symbol in the BIN, place the cursor on the symbol choice and drag up to the BIN.

11.Change the outline colors on the BIN by clicking on a color from the color palette and dragging the new color up to symbol BIN.

12.Select a symbol for a bus passenger, car passenger, pedestrian, and a day care to illustrate how students go home from school.

13.Predict how many students belong in each category and choose a graph type to depict this.

14.Gather information about how students go home from school.

15.Construct a graph which accurately displays the results of the experiment.

16.Print graphs.

Assessments

Students gather necessary data, then create a graph (NETS for Students 5.2)depicting the results of the question, -How do you get home from school?- (MA.E.3.1.1) They may select any graph type to represent their data (MA.E.3.1.2). They will then compare their predictions with the final results and present findings to the class (MA.E.3.1.1).

Note: Circulate and formatively assess students as they use the technology tools. Provide assistance for students who are experiencing difficulty and monitor accordingly.

Extensions

This lesson is best presented in a lab setting to enable each student practice time. If a lab is unavailable, whole class instruction may be used and the teacher can produce a classroom prediction graph and one final results graph. Students can compare the class's prediction with the actual results and discuss their findings while viewing the graphs on the presentation system.
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