I came across a few great examples of graphing activities to get kids involved in hands on data collecting in a fun way! Some are quite classic activities, but sometimes a helpful reminder is needed to remember that these activities exist and are easy to implement into the classroom. Here are three examples of fun and interactive graphing activities:
1. Graphing: Facebook Birthdays:
This activity pulls in technology and social media into the math class!
Have students graph the frequency of birthdays each month on Facebook
by "friending" other students in class as their data set, and observe
what patterns may occur throughout the year!
If students do not have profiles of their own, you could use this similar idea on the website Fakebook, where students could create fake profiles to collect data as an alternative.
2. Paper Airplane Graphing: Have students design and test different paper air plane models, and collect data about how far each one flies! Students will graph the different distances in order to figure out which model produces the best results. This would be great for middle school classrooms.
To make this more challenging, you could have students change variables on one plane model (adding weight, changing wing length) to make a cross curricular connection to scientific investigation, and the engineering design cycle.
3. Candy Graphing: This would be a perfect activity to perhaps put into practice in preparation for the Halloween season! Place a mixed amount of candy (or M&Ms/Smarties/jub jubes) into a jar and have students guess how many of each colour are in the jar. Students will then be able to sort, count, and graph the results. Additionally, you could use pre-packaged candy bars and create a large-scale graph on the classroom floor as another visual alternative.
This would be a good introductory graphing activity, but of course it would be incredibly important to consider the potential for classroom allergies, and dietary restrictions.
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