Goals: To practice graphing skills by taking a classroom survey

Time Required: 40 minutes

Materials: "Graph It" student reproducible, Sanford drawing supplies, and dry erase board and markers. Try these creative supplies from Sanford:

• Mr. Sketch® Watercolor Markers
• Sharpie® Permanent Markers
• Paper Mate® Flair® Marker PensTM/MC
• Prismacolor® Premier Fine Line Markers
• FoohyTM Colored Pencils
• Expo® Dry Erase Markers
• Expo® Vis-à-Vis® Wet Erase Markers

Background Discussion:

1. Write the following list on the board:
   • Tom: chocolate
   • Sally: chocolate
   • Henry: yellow
   • Monroe: yellow
   • Kelsie: white
   • Jackson: ice-cream
   • Brian: strawbery
   • Alexi: chocolate
2. Explain that this list represents the results of a fictional survey based on the question, "What is your favorite kind of cake?" State: This list is a little confusing to look at. How can we organize this information to make the results clearer? (Graphing.)
3. Explain that graphs are often a useful way of comparing information or tracking trends. Introduce the following types of graphs to students. Demonstrate how each type of graph could illustrate the data above:
   • Bar Graph: A bar graph shows information on two axes (e.g., the type of cake can be placed on the horizontal axis [x] and the number of people who enjoy it can be placed on the vertical axis [y]. By comparing the lengths of the bars, you can determine the popularity of each item.)
   • Pie Chart: A pie chart represents how several items make up a whole (e.g., the circle represents the total number of people surveyed, the slices of the pie represent the number of people who like each flavor).
   • Line Graph: A line graph uses two axes to show the relationship between two pieces of information, usually over time (e.g., after asking people’s favorite cake, we would have to ask what their favorite cake was at different times in the past. Then we would graph whether people’s cake preferences shifted over a period of time.) When demonstrating on the dry erase board, consider using Vis-à-Vis® to create your graph template. This will be semi-permanent until wiped away with a damp cloth or Expo® cleaner. Use Expo® markers on the chart.
   • Picture Graph: Picture graphs are similar to bar graphs, but they also incorporate pictures of the items being surveyed (e.g., drawings of each type of cake would be included within the bars).

Background Discussion:

1. Explain that student teams will be conducting short surveys of their classmates. Students will show their results using at least two different types of graphs.
2. Separate students into teams and ask each team to choose something that they are curious about, such as:
   • How many students participate in each after-school activity?
   • Do more boys or girls play after-school sports?
   • How many students have older or younger siblings?
   • How many students have pets?
   • What are everyone’s favorite subjects?
3. Distribute the "Graph It" student reproducible and instruct each team to write a short two- to four-question survey. For example, students may ask:
   • Do you have a pet?
   • What kind?
   • How long have you had a pet?
   • What kinds of pets do students have?
4. Teams should ask each student in the class their survey questions, keeping track of the responses on the student reproducible.
5. When the surveys are complete, each team should use colorful Sanford drawing supplies to create at least two different colorful graphs, which show their survey results. When finished, ask one student from each team to come to the board and replicate one of their graphs.

Challenge!

Can the results of two or more student teams be combined into ONE graph to show even more information? As a class, discuss how and why certain results can be (or shouldn’t be) shown in one graph.

Graph It

Are you curious about your classmates? Pick a topic to survey ten of your friends or classmates about. Then show what you learned by creating two graphs based on your findings.

Topic Question: After-school activities

Circle all of the activities you do after school.

• Play sports
• Read a book
• Homework
• Eat a snack
• Ride bikes
• Hang out with friends
• Play rehearsal
• Chores

Graph Your Results

Add up how many times your friends selected each activity. Use this information to create at least two of the following graphs to represent your results. On a separate sheet of paper, use colorful tools and illustrations to create graphs that show what you’ve discovered.

Bar Graph: A bar graph shows information on two axes. By examining the bars, you can see how popular each item is compared with the others.

Pie Chart: A pie chart represents how several items make up a whole.

Line Graph: A line graph uses two axes to show the relationship between two pieces of information, usually over time.

Picture Graph: A picture graph is similar to a bar graph, but it also incorporates pictures of the items being surveyed.