A Case for Real Data: Where Math, Language Arts, and Science Collide
Right now in my class, it is hard to tell where science ends and math or language arts begin. We take every opportunity we can to talk about real data and collect real data. This turns into making graphs in math and analyzing the qualitative and quantitative patterns…which leads to discussions about different types of text features and how text features help us understand so many things. This is followed up by how we can use them to communicate effectively as well in science experiment, social studies, and other writing activities. They are secret communication tools!
To increase student engagement, you don’t need a million fancy worksheets, you need the kids invested…and nothing makes them more invested than real data they have collected…especially if it about themselves.
It can be as simple as graphing the way we all got to school one day and talking about what those patterns mean. Or as complex as taking that data and your class hypothesis…asking other classes and graphing double or even triple bar graphs to see if the patterns hold up or taking the same poll or a rainy day versus a sunny day to compare the impact of weather on transportation.
Real data and opportunities to collect it are everywhere around you and I challenge you to find ways to bring real data into your math, social studies, and science blocks. This blog post talks about two examples I have used in the last two weeks in my classroom and the depth of conversation we got to.
Activity 1: Graphing Simple Machines
We are starting to learn about simple machines for science. As a class, we watched a little video about simple machines and looked at examples of all six machines. I then gave every person a table to record a tally of all of the simple machines they found in our classroom in about 15 minutes. This activity was about recognition and data collection.
Interesting Items
· 25 sets of elbows and knees = 100 levers
· The blinds on the windows were a pulley
· A stapler is a lever
· Four screws on each chair X 30 chairs = 120 screws
· 2 rolling chairs = 8 wheel and axles
· 2 X Tape roll = 2 wheel and axles
You get the idea…simple machines were EVERYWHERE! The kids worked together to scale up larger numbers and record tally marks. It was an exciting hunt around the room.
At the end of the 15 minutes, the kids changed their tally marks into a number. This is an important skill as well. Organizing data! They carefully put the sheet back into their binder in the math section…
The next day, we did the same thing….outside! The kids took calculators and clipboards with them. I gave them thirty minutes and it was joyful! We have nine portables, and a few of the kids estimated the number of screws around one portable…then multiplied by nine! Needless to say, the number of screws was astronomical, but all of the simple machines had much higher values.
After playing outside, they took the tallies and made a number.
The next day, the kids created a data chart….and the graphing began!
As a class, we talked about outliers….and how the number of screws both inside AND outside was much higher than any other machine.
In groups, the kids used math manipulatives and whiteboard markers to make a many-to-one graph that compared the screws.
Once I had checked the graphs, chatted with each group about analysis, and taken photos, each student used their own data to create a double bar graph comparing all other simple machines on a piece of paper.
The kids were totally engaged and were able to demonstrate that they understood all important parts of graph, including analysis. They were able to analyze the patterns both qualitatively and quantitatively. A few students asked why we couldn’t make line graphs, and that allowed our class to talk about the difference between discrete and continuous data.
Activity 2: The Guilford’s Alternate Use Test
A few weeks ago, I was reading an article about creativity. It used something called the Guilford’s Alternate Use Test to explore the impact of movement on divergent creativity. In this test, they had subjects sit down and complete the test and then walk to complete the same test. The experiment tried many variations, but the results were consistent:
1. Walking increased divergent creativity (thinking of multiple ideas)
2. Walking had a lasting impact on creativity
Now you are thinking, well of course that makes sense…and… this test must be hard to do! Nope! The Guilford’s Alternate Use Test takes four minutes. You give kids four minutes and an every day item. They have to come up with alternate uses for that alternate item…as many as they can.
The first thing I had to figure out was data collection…I created a modified sheet for my kids to collect data:
How I ran it:
Modeling: I pulled the class up to the front and we talked about creativity. I explained the class and had a sample data recording sheet on the board. We set a four-minute timer and I gave them the item: a brick
a. Students shared ideas and I modelled classifying them as (1) Novel and Appropriate OR (2) Repeat or Inappropriate
2. Experiment 1: Sit Down
a. The kids sat down in pairs with their clipboards and data sheets
b. Student ONE responded for four minutes to the item: a button
c. Student TWO responded for four minutes to the item: a plank of wood
d. As the kids walked outside, I recorded their total number and novel or appropriate number on a massive table on the board.
3. Experiment 2: Walking
a. We started walking outside in our pairs
b. Student ONE responded for four minutes to the item: an elastic band
c. Student TWO responded for four minutes to the item: a paperclip
d. As the kids walked inside, I recorded their total number and novel or appropriate number on a massive table on the board.
e. I typed up this data for the next day
4. Personal Graph: The students came inside and made a personal creativity graph. They talked about what they noticed and what surprised them. They worked out the percentage of novel and appropriate compared to total ideas recorded and looked for patterns. They analyzed their graph qualitatively and quantitatively. I helped a few of the kids use Exel to make digital graphs. This was instant differentiation that helped them focus on the analysis.
5. Class Data: I randomized the data and typed up for the next day.
6. Class Graph: The next day, the students worked individually, in pairs, or in groups of three to make sense of the data. They were allowed to use any portion of the data they wanted and had to analyze it both qualitatively and quantitatively. During the lesson I did a mini lesson for a small group about scatter plots and trend lines as well as a quick review of mean, mode, median, and range.
Fun Awesome Things My Kids Did….
We made LOTS of bar graphs and double bar graphs
We found MANY patterns that fit with the research, though our averages were higher
Several groups made a scatter plot with the ‘total’ number on the x-axis and the ‘novel and appropriate’ value on the y-axis. They all tried to draw trend lines and I helped two groups calculate the equation of each of their lines using y= mx +b.
Final Thoughts
My students are in grade five and many started the year telling me they had math anxiety. These same kids are learning how to calculate the equation of a trend line based on 27 data points.
Hands-on Engaging Real Data Real Math Really Important
So, I challenge you to find the opportunities to collect real data. Find the places where science, social studies, and language arts can overlap with math. It is fun. It is engaging. It creates deep learning.