Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching
Ten Data Analysis Activities
This thirteen page data analysis worksheet contains a number of interesting problems regarding statistics. The activities cover the concepts of average measurements, standard deviation, box and whisker plots, quartiles, frequency...
101 Questions
Class Height Distribution
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is no exception! The introductory photo shows a group of classmates lined up in height categories; females and males are in different colors, and the shape of the curve they create is...
US Department of Commerce
How Are Single-Parent Households Distributed Across the United States?
There sure are a lot of single-parent households in the country. After selecting one of four US regions to investigate, pupils create dot plots and box plots on the percentage of single-parent households with male parents and female...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lactase Persistence: Evidence for Selection
What's the link between lactase persistence and dairy farming? Biology scholars analyze data to find evidence of the connection, then relate this to human adaptation. Working individually and in small groups, learners view short video...
US Department of Commerce
Community Change
America is a country on the move. Analyzing data from the Census Bureau, class members gauge the people moving in and out of their areas. An interactive web feature allows pupils to see who is moving out and moving in, while discussion...
US Department of Commerce
Over the Hill - Aging on a Normal Curve
Nobody is too old to learn something new. Young statisticians analyze census data on the percentage of the population older than 65 years old in US counties. They fit a normal distribution to the data, determine the mean and standard...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Impacts on Biodiversity
Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Seed Dispersal in Tropical Forests
How do seeds get around? It's not like plants can control seed dispersal—or can they? Dig deeper into the amazing mechanisms of seed dispersal observed in tropical plants through interactives, a video, and plenty of hands-on data...
US Department of Commerce
Census in Counties - Describing and Comparing Histograms to Understand American Life
Use graphs to interpret life in 136 counties. Pupils analyze histograms and describe the shapes of the distributions of data collected from several counties on different aspects of life. Scholars make predictions on the difference in...
Curated OER
Button Bonanza
Collections of data represented in stem and leaf plots are organized by young statisticians as they embark some math engaging activities.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
American Psychological Association
A Tasty Sample(r): Teaching about Sampling Using M&M’s
Here's a sweet activity! As part of a study of psychological research methods and statistic gathering, individuals develop a hypothesis about the number of each color of M&Ms in a fun-size package. They then count the number of each...
US Department of Commerce
The New Normal
Don't be normal ... be exceptional in understanding statistics. Pupils analyze six different sets of census data using histograms or normal probability plots to determine whether each data set fits a normal distribution. They then get...
Illustrative Mathematics
Do You Fit In This Car?
A short activity that focuses on the normal distribution as a model for data distribution. Using given means and standard deviations, your budding statisticians can use statistical tables, calculators, or other statistical software to...
PBS
The New West: Interactive Map | A Biography of America
Using this interactive map activity, from A Biography of America, explore how the "New West" evolved during the late 20th century, transforming from the wild, untamed Old Rocky Mountain West into a smaller, more accessible "New West."...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Gorongosa: Making Observations Activity
Do you have young scientists wanting to make new discoveries rather than just completing the same experiments? Young scientists use their observational skills to identify animals and patterns in animal behavior. Through tracking...
Illustrative Mathematics
Puzzle Times
Give your mathematicians this set of data and have them create a dot plot, then find mean and median. They are asked to question the values of the mean and median and decide why they are not equal. Have learners write their answers or...
Illustrative Mathematics
Block Scheduling
If a random sample determines that 45% of students favor block scheduling, is it possible that the actual percentage might be 50% or 60%? For this task, learners use data from a computer-generated simulation to determine the plausibility...
Illustrative Mathematics
Heads or Tails
Heads! A great way to practice probability is to flip a coin in class. The provided data allows your mathematicians to predict the probability of heads in ten coin flips. Bring coins to class and allow your own trial of heads or tails....
Teach Engineering
Accelerometer: Centripetal Acceleration
Scholars build robotic arms that swing back and forth and use them to collect velocity and acceleration data. To analyze the results, pupils compare data to the equations for angular velocity and centripetal acceleration.
Computer Science Unplugged
The Orange Game–Routing and Deadlock in Networks
How is data able to move in a congested network? Groups simulate moving data around a congested network by passing fruit around a circle, following specific rules, until everyone ends up with their own fruit. Extension activities...
Illustrative Mathematics
Electoral College
A cross-curricular resource that takes the electoral votes and allows your learners to organize and analyze the data. Young voters can determine which states are more influential and interpret the dotplot provided for more data....
Big Kid Science
Exploring Shadows
What's that lurking in the shadows? An activity that demonstrates how eclipses happen. Science scholars investigate how light and distance interact to form shadows. The experiment uses simple materials to generate data and observations...
Illustrative Mathematics
Haircut Costs
Who pays more for haircuts, men or women? Given quartile values, learners construct box and whiskers plots and interpret the results. They compare the mean and median, and discuss which is more appropriate under particular conditions....