4 Steps to Teach Graphing

It looks like winter has finally arrived. While it is colder in Georgia, I doubt we will see any snow. But, that doesn't keep us from talking about it! This week we planned a fun graphing lesson for Ginny's class.  Here is the way we planned the lesson.

The Mini Lesson:

1. Link to the chart we have used in the past. "Remember last week when we learned all about how to make a graph?"

2. Teach the next skill.  "Today I am going to show you how we can use that same process to answer any question."

Ginny collected her kids on the rug.  Using the anchor chart, she reviewed the steps. Last week she spent the entire week teaching the process of graphing in a series of lessons.  It's really easy to jump in and do a graph, but we want the kids to understand the process of making a graph. We want them to know the steps. This will allow them to apply this process to any questions they have! This is the anchor chart we are going to use for this lesson. You can download a copy of the anchor chart at the bottom of this blog post. 

First step...Pose the Question.

The first thing we had to do was ask the question...What do you want to do on a snowy day?

Second Step...Collect the Data. 

Then we had to collect our data. We invited each child to pick a picture for the graph. Did they want to make snow angels, build a fort, or make a snowman. You can grab the pictures at the bottom of the blog post.

Step 3: Collect the Data.

We gave them a few minutes to color their pictures and then invited them back to the rug.  Each child brought their picture to the graph.

Step 4: Interpret the Data
After making the graph we needed to find out what the graph represented. We used interactive writing to interpret the data. Here are some questions you could ask:

•Can anyone tell me something about the graph?

•Are there more..or more...? How do you know? 

•Are there fewer..or fewer..? How do you know? 

•How many ..?

•How many more..than..?

•How many altogether? How did you figure that out? Is their another way? 

•Where is the graph equal? 

•Which ones make ..have more? 

•What would happen if?

Application of Mini Lesson

"Now it's your turn."

Next, we gave each child their own survey graph. They walked around the room asking their friends as they collected their data.

You can grab this graph at the bottom of this blog post.

After they collected their data, they made their graph and interpreted the data.

Link

"So remember boys and girls, today and everyday, when we have a question that we want to survey our friends, we follow these steps."
 

Ginny called them back to the rug to remind them of the steps in graphing.

If you are looking for more graphing ideas, you might want to check out this resource.