Weather 2: Winter Skies

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 February, the process of graphing and analyzing the data begins. Have students transfer their data from their tables to the graph on the Weather Graph page in the Student Activity Book. Students will need to title the graph and complete numbering and labeling the axes. Review the idea that the table and the graph show the same information in different ways. See Figure 3 for a sample graph.

Explore Winter Skies Data. After students complete the graph, ask them to share some of the information it tells them about the data.

Ask questions such as:

Which type of sky has the tallest bar on the graph? What does that tell you about that type of sky? (Responses should match the graph, i.e., the type of sky with the tallest bar is the type of sky students observed most often.)
Which type of sky has the shortest bar on the graph? What does that tell you about that type of sky? (Responses should match the graph, i.e., the type of sky with the shortest bar is the type of sky students observed least often.)
Did you see one type of sky on more than half the days in the month?

Strategies for finding half of 28 days might include folding the calendar in half or counting out 28 cubes and making two equally tall towers. Students can then use their data tables or graphs to see if one type of sky occurred on more than half the days.

Assign the questions on the Thinking about Winter Skies page in the Student Activity Book to individuals or pairs.

Compare Fall and Winter Skies Data. Display the completed October graph from Weather 1 and demonstrate some ways to tell the story of a graph.

Ask:

What are some of the important things you see when you look at October's graph?
Look at your winter graph. Use the shape of February's graph to describe the data. (Figure 3 shows a sample graph. Possible response: In February, more days had cloudy skies than any other type of sky. 4 days were sunny, 9 days were partly cloudy, and 15 days were cloudy. About half of the days in February were cloudy.)
Compare October's graph to February's graph. How are they alike? Different?

Some students may eagerly point out that the number of days in the two months was not the same. Acknowledge this difference; then direct students' attention to the shape of the data on the graph, that is, remind them of each graph's story. The shape of the data determines the story. A difference of two or three days' data will probably not affect how two stories compare.

Suggest that each student work with a partner to decide how the stories of the fall and winter graphs compare. After students describe to their partners how the stories are alike and different, invite them to share their ideas with the entire class.

Bring the lab to a close by assigning the Comparing Fall and Winter Skies pages. Students will need to add the names of the two months they used to the data table.

To help students compare the two months, review the discussion the class had in Part 1 and refer to the predictions students made. Allow students to revise their initial answers based on their collected data. Students should be able to use data to support their answers.

Ask the following questions again:

Were October skies about as [sunny, cloudy] as February skies?
Which month had a greater number of cloudy days—the autumn month or the winter month?
Compared to the winter month, did the autumn month have [more, about the same number of, or fewer] sunny days?

Use the Comparing Fall and Winter Skies pages in the Student Activity Book to assess students' progress toward reading and describing patterns in data represented in a data table or bar graph [E10]; solving problems about a data set represented in a data table or bar graph [E11]; finding a strategy [MPE2]; and showing work [MPE5].