Introductory Lesson for Grade 7 Data Management

Lesson Title: How to Collect and Organize Data
Subject: Grade 7 Math – Data Management
Materials: Textbook, Graph Paper, Smarties, Colored Pencils
Unit: Data Management: Collection and Display
Specific Expectations: Students will be able to collect and organize categorical discrete, or continuous primary data and secondary data and display the data in charts, tables, and graphs that have appropriate titles, labels and scales that suit the range and distribution of the data, using a variety of tools.
Introductory Activity: 20 Minutes
To begin the lesson the students will be engaged in a discussion with the teacher about where information comes from. Newspapers, the Internet, TV, friends, family. They will be asked to think of ways that data is collected as a way of introducing the topic of data management and collecting information. Once students have brainstormed their ideas about where they receive their information they will then engage in a discussion about how the information is presented. Presented in tally charts, bar graphs, circles graphs, and pictographs. Once the students have brainstormed their ways that they receive and read information they will be asked to write the following definitions down in their notebooks where they can easily add to it and find it at a later date. This piece of paper will go into their folders so that they are kept track of
Primary Data: Data that you collect yourself, such as from a survey
Secondary Data: Data that is taken from someone else, such as published in a newspaper
Frequency Table: a table that shows the count, or frequency, for each survey choice
Tally Chart: a tabled used to record experimental or survey data
Once the students have all written their definitions on their paper the teacher will go over them in detail to make sure the students understand exactly what is meant by each definition.
Students will be taught the difference between a frequency and a tally chart as well as the difference between primary and secondary data.
The lesson today will mainly cover the use of primary data to make bar graphs


Main Activity: 40 Minutes
The students will be involved in a class activity that involves them taking a survey of their own peers and making a mock graph before they break into groups to make their own. The class will be surveyed about what kind of music they want to hear at their Valentine’s Day dance later on in the week. The topics will consist of dance music, hip-hop music, alternative, country, or other. Once this has been done the results will be posted on the board for the students to copy down into their notebooks. They will then be shown how to plot this information on a bar graph. Students must remember that there are important things in bar graphs
Each Bar graph must include even intervals on the Vertical and Horizontal axis, frequency on the vertical, and types of music across the horizontal, and the title of the bar graph.
The mock bar graph that will be placed on the board will look like this but with different numbers depending on student answers





If the students have no further questions about how to make a bar graph they will then move onto their final activity.
Concluding Activity: 30 Minutes
In their groups that the students sit in they will open up their Ziploc bags and read the instructions about the activity.
Instructions:
1) DO NOT EAT THE SMARTIES
2) Separate the Smarties according to their colour
3) Make a Tally Chart to show how many Smarties are in each box
4) Each student is responsible for making a bar graph that shows the different colours of Smarties in their group box
5) Answer the following questions on the back side of your Smarties graph (Please show your work)
a. Which colour of Smarties is the most popular?
b. Which colour of Smarties is the least popular?
c. How many Red Smarties are there compared to Brown Smarties?
6) The completed bar graphs should be done by the end of the class and placed in your folders
If the students finish their Smarties Graphs earlier than expected then they may move on to create and Tic Tac graph for extra practice

Instructions for Tic Tac Bar Graph:
1) DO NOT EAT THE TIC TACS
2) Separate the Tic Tacs according to their colour and keep the three different boxes separate
3) Make a frequency chart of each of the boxes of Tic Tacs
4) Each student is responsible for making a double bar graph to show the different colored Tic Tacs in each box
5) Answer the following questions on the back side of the graph
a. Which box had the most red Tic Tacs?
b. Which box had the most yellow Tic Tacs?
c. How many Tic Tacs did you count in total?
d. What is the total of all the Tic Tacs written as a fraction of red as the numerator and yellow as the denominator?
6) The completed graphs can be put in yours folder when they are finished