Lesson 6

Weather 1: Eye on the Sky

Est. Class Sessions: 1

Developing the Lesson

Part 2: Graphing and Analyzing the Data at the End of the Month

Make a Bar Graph. At the end of the month, begin the process of graphing and analyzing the data. Have students count the tallies and complete the column labeled "Total" on their data tables. Ask students to look at their data tables and to share some of the things they learned from the data.

Ask:

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  • Show how you counted the tallies on your data table. (Possible response: I counted on from 5 because I knew the tallies were in a group of 5: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.)
  • How many [sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy] days did we have this month?
  • Did we have more sunny days or cloudy days? How do you know? (Answers will vary. Possible response: I know we had more sunny days than cloudy days because we had 13 sunny days and 12 cloudy days. When I look at my number line, I know that 13 is more than 12 because it is more to the right on the number line.)
  • Did we have less cloudy days or partly cloudy days? How do you know? (Answers will vary. Possible response: I know we had more cloudy days than partly cloudy days because we only had 6 partly cloudy days. A train of 6 cubes is shorter than a train of 12 cubes, so 6 is less than 12.)

Tell students they will transfer their data from the Weather Data Table to the Weather Graph .Explain that the data table and the graph will show the same information in different ways. In a sense, the graph is a picture of the table.

Display and direct students' attention to the Weather Graph page. Adapt your instruction based on students' level of experience with graphs. See Content Note.

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Bar Graphs.If students collect the weather data during October, they will make a group bar graph in Unit 3 Lesson 3 Pockets Graph before they complete their weather graph. They will make their own individual graphs in Unit 5 Lesson 5 Colors.

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Save the October data for comparisons with data the class will collect in an investigation during the month of February.

Title the graph "[Month Name]'s Weather." Tell students that the graph needs some labels. Highlight the connection between the data table and graph by reminding them that the same information on their data tables will need to be on their graphs

Point to the horizontal axis, and then the vertical axis on the display, respectively, and ask:

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  • How should we label this axis? (Type of Sky)
  • How should we label the other axis? (Number of Days)

After the axes are labeled, demonstrate how to transfer the data from the table to the graph by drawing the first bar on the graph. Show students how to color each bar between the dotted lines as shown on the sample graph in Figure 3. Have students complete the other two bars on the graph as you demon-strate, or ask them to do so independently.

Analyze the Data. When the graphs are complete, make connections between the graphs and the data tables.

Ask:

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  • How are the graph and data table the same? (They show the same information, Type of Sky and Number of Days. They both have words, numbers, and symbols. We can use them to compare data.)
  • How are they different? (The graph is more like a picture. You can see a drawing of the data. The graph has bars and the data table has tally marks.)
  • Which tool is easier to use? Why? (Answers will vary.)

Continue a discussion of the weather data using their graphs.

Ask:

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  • Was any type of sky found on more than half the days in the month? Talk with a partner about a way to solve this problem and then try it.

To solve this problem, students must determine how many days are in half the month. Once they determine the value of "half," they only need to compare it with the number for the most common type of sky. They can solve this problem in a variety of ways. Possibilities include the following:

  • Students can use 30 or 31 connecting cubes and try to make two equal towers, each of which represent one-half of the days of the month.
  • Students can divide the number of weeks in half and interpret the extra days. This strategy allows students to work with smaller numbers.
  • One of the more inventive solutions is to fold the calendar in half (horizontally or vertically) and count the number of days on one half.

Have students share their strategies and solutions. Then assign the Thinking about the Weather page to student pairs. Students may use their data tables and graphs to answer the questions. Use the questions to guide further discussion about students' discoveries about the month's weather.

Adventure Book:
Student Activity Book: 15 17
Answers
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SAB_Mini
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SAB_Mini
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Master:
Sample bar graph
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Eye color data table
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