LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Body graphing

"Body Graphing" is an interactive graphing activity involving manipulatives to compare graphing results. With the use of ropes and unifix cubes students will learn to compare and contrast their body with classmates. The graphing activity can be extended to graph differences with height, hair and eye color, and other physical attributes.

A lesson plan for grades K–1 Mathematics

By patsy morgan

Learn more

Related pages

  • Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!: Using chocolate as a theme, students will become involved in reading, writing, math, word study/spelling and other developmentally appropriate (integrated) activities. The unit includes centers for the classroom along with whole group activities.
  • M&M math: Rotating to each station using M&M's, this lesson will allow students to add, graph, sort, and estimate.
  • Easter egg math: Using colored Easter eggs, students will sort by color, count eggs, and graph data.

Related topics

Help

Please read our disclaimer for lesson plans.

Legal

The text of this page is copyright ©2008. See terms of use. Images and other media may be licensed separately; see captions for more information and read the fine print.

Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • count using tally marks.
  • make a reasonable estimate of “how many.”
  • sort by a given attribute.
  • describe objects by their attribute.
  • gather, organize data as a group activity.
  • graph the results of a sorting activity.
  • to answer questions about charts and graphs.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

40 minutes

Materials/resources

  • paper for each student
  • pencils and crayons for each student
  • a graphing sheet for each student (use a new form each time a new attribute is graphed)
  • Different colored rope or yarn (6-8 feet long) for different attributes to be graphed (the amount of yarn needed will depend on how many different attributes you graph during one activity)
  • unifix cubes (for each student)
  • markers (for teacher use only)
  • a large graphing chart

Pre-activities

Students should have previous experience with sorting by attributes. This lesson may be used as an introductory to graphing or graphing with grids.

Activities

  1. Begin the lesson by discussing how we are all different. Discuss the physical attributes that we have. Have students select as a group an attribute to compare and graph.
  2. On the floor place the colored yarn to form large circles. Make a circle for each attribute, such as, circle for black hair and a circle for brown hair. Have the students stand in a circle for their particular hair color.
  3. Have one student from each group count aloud how many are in the circle. The teacher needs to write this on chart paper.
  4. Have the students go to their desk to stack unifix cubes, using one for each student in their circle. Have a student from each circle come to the front of the room to compare stacks of cubes. (Discuss words such as, more, less, larger, smaller, fewer.)
  5. Next have the students to go to their desk to draw a head showing their hair color. This is used to make a large class graph for the wall.
  6. After each student has placed his/her drawing on the graph, discuss the results of the graph.
  7. To extend the activity for independent or small group practice, give each student a copy of a graphing grid. The students may use the large graph to make their own copy. This will give the students extended practice with using grid paper to make a graph.

Assessment

Completed classroom graphs
Written or verbal answers to questions
Thumbs up or down to verbal questions

Supplemental information

Suggested Attributes:

  • hair
  • feet
  • eye color
  • hair color
  • height
  • long hair/short hair
  • freckles/no freckles

North Carolina curriculum alignment

Mathematics (2004)

Grade 1

  • Goal 1: Number and Operations - The learner will read, write, and model whole numbers through 99 and compute with whole numbers.
    • Objective 1.01: Develop number sense for whole numbers through 99.
      • Connect the model, number word, and number using a variety of representations.
      • Use efficient strategies to count the number of objects in a set.
      • Read and write numbers.
      • Compare and order sets and numbers.
      • Build understanding of place value (ones, tens).
      • Estimate quantities fewer than or equal to 100.
      • Recognize equivalence in sets and numbers 1-99.
  • Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use data and simple probability concepts.
    • Objective 4.01: Collect, organize, describe and display data using line plots and tallies.
  • Goal 5: Algebra - The learner will demonstrate an understanding of classification and patterning.

  • Common Core State Standards

    • Mathematics (2010)

      • Grade 1

        • Measurement & Data
          • 1.MD.4 Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another.

      • Kindergarten

        • Counting & Cardinality
          • K.CC.4Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality. When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only...
          • K.CC.5Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects.
        • Measurement & Data
          • K.MD.1Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.
          • K.MD.2Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.
          • K.MD.3Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.1