Content:

1. Anticipatory Set: Introduces the basic spreadsheet concepts and the two types of graphs that will be part of today’s lesson. Project in class. Available as either a powerpoint file, or as web files.

2. Open “Meet the Graphs” interactive Excel spreadsheet. Work through each data sheet together using the scripted directions below:

a. Sheet #1: Meet the Bar Graph – We’re going to take a survey in this class and find out what your favorite ___________are. When I call out an item, raise your hand if you want to “vote” for it as your favorite. You must vote, but only once. I will write the results on the board.

On the Meet the Graphs sheet, enter the survey results.

For example:

Favorite Pets Students Responses
dogs 9
cats 7
fish 5
snakes 2
lizards 1

You’ve created a bar graph. Bar graphs are best for showing comparison between data (in this case, comparing one kind of pet to another in terms of how popular they are among a group of students). Now that you’ve entered the data and created a graph, let’s answer some questions about it…. Click on the link to go to the next sheet.

b. Sheet #2: Bar Graph Questions - Use the bar graph on this sheet to answer the three questions. Work quietly and type your answer in the space provided. We’ll review them before meeting the next graph.

(Take a moment to discuss the student responses.)

c. Sheet #3: Make a Pie - Let’s try to take the same data and visually represent it another way. Enter the numbers (listed above in 2a) and watch your pie grow. This graph is the best kind of graph for showing how a group is divided up. When you want to show what portion or fraction of a group falls into each of a number of categories, you would use a pie graph. Now, let’s use the pie graph to find some missing information.

d. Sheet #4: Find the Missing Information – Work quietly to fill in the chart. We will review them when you are finished.

(Take a moment to discuss the student responses.)

Introduction • Teacher Notes • Closure