Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Weather Graph Data

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Teaching young mathematicians about collecting and analyzing data allows for a variety of fun and engaging activities. Here, children observe the weather every day for a month, recording their observations in the form of a bar graph....
Lesson Plan
American Statistical Association

Colors Challenge!

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Does writing the name of a color in a different colored ink affect one's ability to read it? Scholars design an experiment to answer this question. They collect the data, analyze the statistics, and draw a conclusion based on...
AP Test Prep
College Board

Coke® Versus Pepsi®: An Introductory Activity for Test of Significance

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Most people claim they can tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. Scholars conduct a fun experiment to test that claim! Once learners collect their data, they analyze the results and determine if the statistics are significant.
Performance
Radford University

Box-and-Whisker Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Think inside the box. Working in small groups, pupils design a study to answer comparing two data sets. Team members collect data and construct box-and-whisker plots and analyze them to prove or disprove their hypothesis. They develop...
Lesson Plan
American Statistical Association

An A-MAZE-ING Comparison

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Teach your class how to use descriptive statistics through a hands-on data collection activity. Pupils collect their own data, calculate test statistics, and interpret the results in context. They compare male and female results, looking...
Lesson Plan
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World History Digital Education Foundation, Inc.

COVID-19: Comparison with the Influenza Pandemic of 1918

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A timely lesson uses documentation from the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 to compare it to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Scholars watch a short video, analyze sources, complete a worksheet, and write a claim with supporting...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Historical Climate Cycles

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...
Lesson Plan
Mascil Project

Amberhavn: New Bus Network

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Public transportation is an important aspect of any growing city. Collaborative groups work to redesign a system for a city in need of restructuring. Young scholars design a route, create a timetable, and incorporate a quality control...
Lesson Plan
Statistics Education Web

How High Can You Jump?

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
How high can your pupils jump? Learners design an experiment to answer this question. After collecting the data, they create box plots and scatter plots to analyze the data. To finish the lesson, they use the data to draw conclusions.
Lesson Plan
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Workforce Solutions

Miniature Gulf Coast Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Scholars show what they know about data collection and analysis with an activity that examines a smaller population of Houghton, Texas. Independently or in pairs, learners identify their research question, gather, graph, and analyze...
Activity
Royal Society of Chemistry

Mass Changes in Chemical Reactions—Microscale Chemistry

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
What better way is there to introduce conservation of mass than a few simple experiments? Young chemists conduct two chemical reactions, take the masses of reactants and products, then compare their results to determine...
Lesson Plan
American Statistical Association

Armspans

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young mathematicians collect data on the arm spans of classmates. Then they sort the data by measures of center, spread, and standard deviation. Finally, they compare groups, such as boys and girls, to interpret any differences. 
Lesson Plan
Statistics Education Web

Consuming Cola

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Caffeine affects your heart rate — or does it? Learners study experimental design while conducting their own experiment. They collect heart rate data after drinking a caffeinated beverage, create a box plot, and draw conclusions....
Lesson Plan
American Institutes for Research

Digital Smiles

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Explore metric measurement, recording data, and creating an electronic spreadsheet displaying results with your math class. Scholars will measure the length of their smiles, record the measurements, and represent the results on an...
Lesson Plan
American Statistical Association

More Confidence in Salaries in Petroleum Engineering

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Making inferences isn't an exact science. Using data about salaries, learners investigate the accuracy of their inferences. Their analyses includes simulations and randomization tests as well as population means.
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Spring Away!

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
The last segment of the nine-part unit makes a connection between springs and linear equations. Groups hang weights from the spring and measure its length. Then, using the data collected, they calculate the slope to find the k-value...
Activity
Computer Science Unplugged

Lightest and Heaviest—Sorting Algorithms

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
How do computers sort data lists? Using eight unknown weights and a balance scale, groups determine the order of the weights from lightest to heaviest. A second worksheet provides the groups with other methods to order the weights. The...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Mood Music!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Grouchy? Sad? Here's a great resource that shows kids how music can be used to lift their spirits. Kids collect and chart data on the effects of music on emotions. After analyzing the results of their experiment, they develop...
Lesson Plan
American Statistical Association

Bubble Trouble!

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Which fluids make the best bubbles? Pupils experiment with multiple fluids to determine which allows for the largest bubbles before popping. They gather data, analyze it in multiple ways, and answer analysis questions proving they...
Unit Plan
Radford University

A Change in the Weather

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Explore the power of mathematics through this two-week statistics unit. Pupils learn about several climate-related issues and complete surveys that communicate their perceptions. They graph both univariate and bivariate data and use...
Lesson Plan
University of Georgia

Heating and Cooling of Land Forms

For Students 9th - 12th
Compare heating and cooling rates of different land forms. A lab activity has groups collect data on the rate of heating and cooling of soil, grass, saltwater, fresh water, and sand. An analysis of the rates shows how the different land...
Lesson Plan
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Kenan Fellows

Reading Airline Maintenance Graphs

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Airline mechanics must be precise, or the consequences could be deadly. Their target ranges alter with changes in temperature and pressure. When preparing an airplane for flight, you must read a maintenance graph. The second lesson of...
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Man vs. Beast: Approximating Derivatives using Human and Animal Movement

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
What does dropping a ball look like as a graph? An engaging activity asks learners to record a video of dropping a ball and uploading the video to software for analysis. They compare the position of the ball to time and calculate the...
Lesson Plan
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NASA

Pop Can Hero Engine

For Teachers K - 8th
Hang a soda can from a string and watch it spin by the force created by water streaming out of slanted holes. This plan provides background information, detailed materials and procedures, discussion questions, a lab worksheet, and...