D8 — Representing and Interpreting Data, from Tables to Value Bars
Problem Strings for Fluency and Beyond · Representing and Interpreting Data, from Tables to Value Bars
The context for this string is a comparative data set of the lengths of 7 animals. Students once again transpose the data from a table using ratio-preserving mapping to make a value bar graph for the data presented. Each bar will represent the length of different animals in feet. As with D7, allow students the opportunity to choose the order of the numbers they work with. Start together asking students to identify the animal longest in length. In this data set, that will be the Hippopotamus of 20 feet. Mark the end of that bar as 20 ft. Once the bars are all shaded, elicit a conversation on how the bars are related. See Appendix I on p. 169 for larger copies of the table and the bars for display and for students to work on if you wish.
Here is a list of 7 animals and their average lengths (in feet): Baboon 5, Fox 2, Hippopotamus 20, Elephant 11, Giraffe 16, Tiger 9, Seal 6.
The numbers chosen for the D8 string will support students in thinking about number relationships and how the bars are related. After the Hippopotamus is identified as the longest animal, it is likely that students will identify either the elephant or tiger to do next, as both of them are very close to 1/2 of the length of the Hippopotamus. The remaining animals will be looked at in relation to the first 2 bars. For example, the Baboon will be between 0 and where they think the halfway point (10) should be.
