Data: Kids, Cats, Ads - Lake Washington School District

Data: Kids, Cats, and Ads

Data and Statistics

Mathematical Emphasis
Investigation 1—Balancing Act

Using line plots to represent data sets
Comparing two data sets
Finding medians and other fractional parts of data sets
Making hypotheses based on comparisons of two data sets
Making statements based on data

Investigation 2—Examining Cats

Collecting and examining data that involve more than one variable
Making representations of numerical and categorical variables
Using fractions and percentages to understand categorical and numerical data
Exploring the way two variables in a data set might be related
Analyzing a single data set in more than one way

Tips For Helping At Home
Questions To Ask:

What do you need to find out?
What did you do in class to get started?
Have you solved similar problems that would help?
Can you make a drawing (model) to explain your thinking?
What would happen if…?
What do you need to do next?
How do you know your answer is reasonable?
Has the question been answered?
Are there any questions you want to ask your teacher?

Helping At Home

Your child will be collecting “foot balancing” data from you and other adults. Children have fun with this topic while they learn about collecting data. They will compare the adult data with data on themselves and try to decide who balances better, adults or students.
As you read or hear about statistics, remark on them to your child. For example, if you hear that 1 out of 4 doctors prefer a product, you might say, “I wonder how many doctors they asked?” or “If more doctors were sampled, would they get the same findings?” Questions like these encourage children to think about data, to question data, and to make better decisions based on the data they hear or read every day.

Vocabulary Terms

Bar Graph: A representation of information using bars to show quantities or numbers
Data sets: A collection of information
Line Plot: Organizes numerical data on a horizontal axis with values, data is shown with X’s above the values
Median: A measure of central tendency, the exact middle of the data when all the data are put in order
Outlier: A piece of data that has an unusual value
Range: The value of the difference between the lowest and highest piece of numerical data
Representation: A graph, picture or chart showing the data that was collected
Shape of Data: The outline or shape that data makes on a line plot or graph
Statistics: The study of data
Typical Value: A single value representing the entire data set; may include measures like mode, median, and mean

Mathematics Vocabulary Web site

Mathematics Strategy—Ways of Exploring and Representing Associations

Exploring associations between two or more measured quantities is one of the central topics of statistics. There are many techniques for doing this formally. Students in fifth grade start to explore associations in data by sorting (cat data), making lists of data, and making simple graphs.

One of the most common techniques students use is to divide data into piles based on categories (fur color of cats) and then construct two or more simple graphs to show the information. Students would use the graphs to draw conclusions about the data collected.

Students can draw conclusions from the data such as:

The least common color for males and females is orange and white.
Although gray and white is the most common color for males, orange, black and white is most common for females.

Source: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space: Data: Kids, Cats, and Ads. Dale Seymour, 1998. (Pages 38 and 39)

Mathematics Game—Equivalence

Materials

Fraction and Percent Cards

Record Sheet

Players: 2

Playing the Game

Object: Lowest score wins, points accumulate from unplayed cards

Place percentage cards—10%, 50%, 100%--on the playing table with space between.

Mix fraction cards and deal six cards to each player.

Cards are played in increasing order from 10% to 100%, from left to right. On a turn, a player places a card that touches any card already on the table or on top of an equivalent percentage. The percentage equivalent of the fractions should be stated to justify placement. Example: ⅛ would be to the right of 10% because ⅛ is 12½ %.

Note: a card may not be placed in between two cards that are touching.

Play continues, alternating players, with the goal being to place as many of the six cards as possible. The round is over when neither player can place any more cards.