Prior to the start of this lesson, students will need to complete the Pizza at Home activity sheet and bring to class. At the time you assign this homework (which requires students to choose one of three survey questions and ask members of their community to respond), ask students which question they intend to choose. If many students choose only one question, you may need to assign an equal number of students to each question.
Before discussing the actual data collected by the students, pose the following questions to the class and allow for discussion:
- How easy was it to find people who were willing to answer your survey questions?
- How long did it take you to complete the surveys?
- Did anyone have trouble answering your questions? If so, what was the issue? What did you do in response?
After sufficient discussion time has elapsed, ask students to get out their activity sheets. If possible, divide the class into groups so that the students who chose survey question 1 are together, the students who chose survey question 2 are together, and the students who chose survey question 3 are together.
In their groups, students should do the following:
- Compare the results of their surveys.
- Determine if there are any common results among the members of the group.
- Choose a way of displaying the results in a graphical fashion.
For this last step, each individual student will be creating his or her own graph. However, the group can discuss the pros and cons of creating various types of graphs, including bar graph, circle graph, or pictograph. Students can use a graphing or spreadsheet program to enter their data, create their graphs, and print out their graphs. If students are using Microsoft Excel®, they can enter their data directly into the spreadsheet and use the Chart Wizzard to create their graphs.
Designate sections in your classroom for students to post their graphs. For example, one wall may be selected for all of the bar graphs. Another wall may be selected for all of the circle graphs. And so on.... Students should perform a gallery walk and view other students' graphs. They should think about the similarities and differences among the types of graphs and data collected.
Conclude the lesson by asking some or all of the Questions for Students, below. These will help you lead a discussion which summarizes the lesson.
Assign the Pizza Toppings activity sheet as homework for the next lesson. Students will once again be surveying members of their community. This survey focuses on people's favorite pizza toppings.
