Bar Graphs

We are starting a new chapter in our math curriculum and it begins with bar graphs and line graphs. My kiddos had their first math test of the year this week and since we reviewed A LOT for it, I wanted to do something a little more hands-on to make it more interesting.

 Instead of just doing problems from the book, I had the students collect their own data and then create their own bar graphs. They chose whatever topic they wanted and 5 categories or options for classmates to choose from. They then went around the room and interviewed students about their topic. After they collected the data, they used a graph (that I gave them) to plot the data.

It was so fun to see all of the questions that they came up with ranging from favorite sport and food to favorite video game character (none of which I recognized). It was also another fun way for the students to get to know each other and build up our community. The students even interviewed me!

They did a great job collecting the data and creating their graphs. However, some of them actually ended up looking more like histograms (tomorrow's lesson) than bar graphs. That was my own fault! Still, I think they got the object and had fun in the process.

Here's a picture from the activity. You can see how it looks more like a histogram! 

Wednesday 9-18-13

I love this skirt. I got so many compliments on it today. Of course they all came from 10-year-old girls but still! 

Skirt: Forever 21

Tank: Banana Republic

Necklace: Forever 21