American Statistical Association
Scatter It! (Predict Billy’s Height)
How do doctors predict a child's future height? Scholars use one case study to determine the height of a child two years into the future. They graph the given data, determine the line of best fit, and use that to estimate the height in...
Inside Mathematics
Population
Population density, it is not all that it is plotted to be. Pupils analyze a scatter plot of population versus area for some of the states in the US. The class members respond to eight questions about the graph, specific points and...
Inside Mathematics
Snakes
Get a line on the snakes. The assessment task requires the class to determine the species of unknown snakes based upon collected data. Individuals analyze two scatter plots and determine the most likely species for five...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The State Capital of Stem and Leaf
Young scholars explore the concept of stem and leaf plots. In this stem and leaf plots lesson, students plot the 50 US states' capitals on a stem and leaf plot according to the first letter of each state. Young scholars...
Willow Tree
Approximating a Line of Best Fit
You may be able to see patterns visually, but mathematics quantifies them. Here learners find correlation in scatterplots and write equations to represent that relationship. They fit a line to the data, find two points on the line, and...
EngageNY
Informally Fitting a Line
Discover how trend lines can be useful in understanding relationships between variables with a instructional activity that covers how to informally fit a trend line to model a relationship given in a scatter plot. Scholars use the trend...
CCSS Math Activities
Social Security Trust Fund
Will Social Security still be around when you retire? Given data on the predicted balance of the social security fund over time, scholars plot the points on a coordinate grid and determine if a quadratic regression fits the data. They...
EngageNY
Analyzing Residuals (Part 2)
Learn about patterns in residual plots with an informative math instructional activity. Two examples make connections between the appearance of a residual plot and whether a linear model is the best model apparent. The problem set...
Curated OER
My Peanut Butter is Better Than Yours!
Learners explore the concept of statistical data. In this statistical data lesson, students read an article about the dangers of peanut butter to those who are allergic. Learners perform a taste test of two different brands of peanut...
Albert Shanker Institute
Economic Causes of the March on Washington
Money can't buy happiness, but it can put food on the table and pay the bills. The first of a five-instructional activity unit teaches pupils about the unemployment rate in 1963 and its relationship with the March on Washington. They...
Curated OER
Graphing and the Coordinate Plane
Students learn about the Cartesian coordinate plane, understand the four quadrants of the Cartesian coordinate plane, and plot points on the plane. Students read coordinates for a point from a graph and give the ratio of rise over run...
Curated OER
Linear and Nonlinear Functions
Students identify properties of a line. In this algebra lesson, students differentiate between functions and nonfunctions. They use the slope and y intercept to graph their lines.
Curated OER
Piecewise Modeling with Multiple Functions: Federal Debt
High schoolers analyze data on debt and write an equation. In this statistics instructional activity, students are given data from different time periods, and are asked to graph and analyze the data. They work in groups, and are assigned...
Inside Mathematics
House Prices
Mortgages, payments, and wages correlate with each other. The short assessment presents scatter plots for young mathematicians to interpret. Class members interpret the scatter plots of price versus payment and wage versus payment for...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Solving Inequalities
What does translating points on a number line have to do with solving inequalities? Young mathematicians first learn about translations of points on a number line, and then use this information to solve linear inequalities in one variable.
EngageNY
Determining the Equation of a Line Fit to Data
What makes a good best-fit line? In the 10th part of a 16-part module, scholars learn how to analyze trend lines to choose the best fit, and to write equations for best-fit lines to make predictions.
Curated OER
Stressed to the Breaking Point
Young scholars explore the relationship between the amount of weight that can be supported by a spaghetti bridge, the thickness of the bridge, and the length of the bridge to determine the algebraic equation that best represents that...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: 8th Grade Math – Target J
Look at patterns in bivariate data. Eight sample items illustrate the eighth grade statistics and probability standards. The Smarter Balanced Sample multiple-choice items focus on numerical and categorical bivariate data. The slide show...
Curated OER
Introduction to Scatter Plots and Correlation
High schoolers examine the concept of scatter plots. They compare baseball statistics to locate the ones that correlate with winning, and identify the positive, negative, and no correlation in sets of data using MS Excel.
Curated OER
Optimization For Breakfast
Students identify he proportion of a cereal box. In this algebra lesson, students define the relationship between patterns, functions and relations. They model their understanding using the cereal box.
Curated OER
Get Your Numbers in Shape - TI-83
High Schoolers use the TI-83 calculator to produce a sequence, explore patterns and find a linear or quadratic equation for a given pattern. They use inductive reasoning to make conjectures about patterns. They find the Y-value of a...
Curated OER
Means of Growth
Students collect and graph data. In this statistics lesson, students analyze their plotted data using a scatter plot. They identify lines as having positive, negative or no correlation.
Curated OER
Graphing Linear Inequalities
Eighth graders extend skills for representing and solving linear equations to linear inequalities. Lesson activities build understanding and skill by plotting ordered pairs of numbers that either satisfy or do not satisfy a given...
Curated OER
How popular is your favorite site?
Students gather data for the project for the entire year. They plot their data, try to fit a equation to their data, and speculate on why the data shows the pattern it does and project its future growth.