Alphabet soup
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L356
A lesson plan for grades 3–5 Mathematics
Using pasta letters, students count the number of letters in their names and determine whether any value occurs more times than all others. Students also construct and use box-and-whisker plots to identify the mean, mode, median, and range of the data set. Illuminations provides a class notes recording sheet and instructions for completing the lesson.
NCTM Standards and Expectations:
- Represent data using tables and graphs such as line plots, bar graphs, and line graphs.
- Describe the shape and important features of a set of data and compare related data sets, with an emphasis on how the data are distributed.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Mathematics (2004)
Grade 3
- Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use data and simple probability concepts.
- Objective 4.01: Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including circle graphs and tables) to solve problems.
Grade 4
- Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use graphs, probability, and data analysis.
- Objective 4.01: Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including line graphs and bar graphs) to solve problems.
- Objective 4.02: Describe the distribution of data using median, range and mode.
- Objective 4.03: Solve problems by comparing two sets of related data.
Grade 5
- Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use graphs and data analysis.
- Objective 4.01: Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including stem-and-leaf plots) to solve problems.
- Objective 4.03: Solve problems with data from a single set or multiple sets of data using median, range, and mode.
