Friday, July 8, 2011

D = Displaying Data #GETABC

Alphabet Letter D on Blocks Helium Mylar Balloon 18"D is for Displaying Data (Part 1 of a "D" Duo)


There's a dynamic duo for the letter D, both by way of Washington, DC.  Start today with Part 1...Grab some real-world numbers, then input the detailed data using the National Center for Education Statistics' "Create a Graph" Website to make a dynamic display:


We all know that graphing is an essential math skill.  The "Create a Graph" website is wonderfully kid-friendly, and the site takes kids step-by-step through the process of creating very polished graphs.  Provide your students with a set of data, then let them chose whether they want to make a bar, line, area, pie or xy graph. 

I've had incredible success with this site and my 3rd graders if I provide them with a detailed list of instructions.  Check out page 2 of my Slideshare document below or click here to see the directions & graphing instructions for "Computer Graph Attack:  Graphing Waste Per Person, Per Pound, Per Country."  Go the extra mile by having students do the activity, graphing the waste per capita per country.
Environmental Education Applications:
Math & Science go hand in hand, so of course that includes environmental science.  Here are some good places to find data.If need be, create instruction lists of your own patterned off of the example here.

--FactMonster.com has a lot of graph-worthy, statistical information that is kid-friendly, such as The Least & Most Polluting Vehicles. Other FactMonster eco-data can be found here, by theme or at World and News.
--Environmental Information for Kids from People Powered Machines has kid-centric data too.

--Find EPA data sets from
here.
Note:  In an attempt to meld my pursuits of Green, Education, and Technology, "GET" and this ABC series began...as did my twitter thread #GETABC.  To see the inception of #GETABC and give yourself a tidbit of background, go to GTG's True Confessions & Whirling Dervishes.

Photo from listed website and "D" photo from http://www.balloonmaniacs.com. un 

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