Lesson Plan
Asking and Answering Questions about Line Plots and Bar Graphs
Take students’ understanding of bar graphs and line plots to the next level. This lesson will encourage students to think about how graphs are designed and the questions we can ask and answer about data presented in graphs.
Grade:
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Learning Objectives
Students will be able to apply their knowledge of bar graphs and line plots to ask and answer interpretive questions about data.
Introduction
(10 minutes)- Tell students that artists have to make lots of decisions when they create a piece of art. They need to select colors, determine the size of objects, figure out how to shape images, and make many other choices. This is because they are creating a visual image that is going to communicate something to the viewer without using words. Explain that when data scientists create graphs, they too need to make decisions because they are creating a work that communicates something through a visual image.
- Project a bar graph for the class to see, or direct their attention to one in a resource that all students have. Ask students to discuss what decisions the creator of the graph had to make with a neighbor. Share ideas as a class.
- Examples: How wide to make the bars, what numbers to use on the scale, the colors/patterns on the bars, etc.