Statistics Project Lesson Plan - 6th Grade Math

Preparation

This project requires some preparation before you present it to students. At least `2` class periods before you plan to begin the project, you need to collect students’ data in class so that it is available for the first day of the project. 

Google Form for data

Use Google Forms to collect numerical data from students so that the data can be easily transferred to a Google sheet for analysis. You can use the Google Form Example to see what you can create to collect data for each students’ class period, height in inches, number of siblings, number of pets, and number of hours of homework per day. The same form should be used for all of your class periods so that students have more data to use.

Be creative with your data!

You can be creative with the data you collect as long as it is numerical! Here are some more ideas for collecting data:

• Collaborate with other departments: You could work with the gym teacher to set up activities for students to complete, such as the number of jumping jacks they can do in a minute, the amount of time to complete a miniature obstacle course, or the number of times they can dribble a basketball in one minute.
• Get student ideas: You can ask students to give you ideas of what they would like to collect numerical data on before you create the Google Form if you want inspiration from your students!
• Have fun with it: Give students tasks that they can do in the classroom (or available hallways or common areas). Consider setting time limits to whatever data you are collecting so that students don’t have to spend too much time to get varied data. For example, instead of doing the number of minutes students can hula hoop, consider doing the number of rotations a person can get in `1` or `2` minutes.

Preparing data for students

Google Form responses can be automatically linked to Google Sheets for easy data analysis in the “Responses” tab of the Google Form.

Make sure you organize the data by class before giving it to students. Create a tab for calculations for average, median, minimum, maximum, and range. Then create a tab for each question (height, pets, siblings, homework) so students can create their histograms and dot plots. Example images are shown below:

Calculations

Classes can be organized vertically for calculations. An example of the Google Sheet commands are also included here for reference.

Histograms

Classes can be organized vertically for histograms so that students can create their frequency tables and histograms accordingly. Then, students can put the corresponding histograms below the frequency tables.

Dot plots

Classes can be organized horizontally so that students can adjust column sizes as needed for the dot plots. 

Warm-Up

The purpose of this project is for students to apply their statistical knowledge. Although the project uses Google Sheets to do the statistical calculations, students will still need to be able to explain what their analysis indicates about the data.

Students should be able to answer these questions independently; however, they should also verify their answers and explain their reasoning. When reviewing students’ work with them, it will be important to highlight the different conclusions students came to with the histogram. 

Introducing the statistics project

As further review for students before going into the project, consider having students complete the practice listed at the end of this lesson as a prerequisite before working on the project. 

For students’ reference, make sure students are given a copy of the Project Student Sheet. Because students may be unfamiliar with Google sheets, it will be beneficial to walk them through how to get their copy of the student data setup correctly. If you have multiple class periods, it may be beneficial to walk through an example for each step of this project with one of the class periods as an example. Then, students can repeat the process for the other class periods.

Timing

The pacing for this project will be dependent on students’ readiness to use technology. If students are unfamiliar with Google Sheets, it may take them more time. It may be beneficial to work through the project one step at a time, and then allow students `15` to `20` minutes to work on and finish the step before moving onto the next step.

Sharing the data

Share the link with the results from the Google Form that has the data collected by students. Show students how to make a copy of the data sheet (File `>` Make a copy) and rename it accordingly. 

If you only have one class period, then they can analyze their own data or you can try to collect data from other teachers. If you have more than `4` class periods, consider only requiring students to complete the project analysis for `4` total class periods. 

Calculations

On the calculations sheet, students should find the mean, median, mode, minimum, maximum, and range for each column of data.

Students can use the Sheets functions built in to find the average (`=`average), median (`=`median), minimum (`=`min), maximum (`=`max), and range (subtract minimum from maximum) for each of the `4` questions for each class. Allow students some time to work on this step before moving on. 

Create the histogram

Once students have their basic calculations completed, they can create the histograms. Students will need to determine the intervals based on the data. Students should have at least four to five different groups for their histograms. Once they have determined their groups, they can create frequency tables for each class period.

On Sheets, it will be important that one column represents the label that students want under the bar and the adjacent column represents the frequency, as shown below with a different context:

From there, students can highlight their frequency tables, including the headers, and insert a bar chart. Then, they can customize the labels and chart as needed. Allow students some time to work on this step before moving on.

Create the dot plot

Once students have completed all of their histograms, they can create dot plots. For each class, they should organize the data from least to greatest for “Siblings” and “Homework” respectively.

Students can create dot plots manually by changing the width of the columns in Sheets and creating a number line as shown on the slide. Because this is the last major aspect of the project, students can move onto the reflection on the Project Student Sheet when they are ready.

Student reflection

When students have completed all other parts of the project, they will need to complete the reflection that is on the Project Student Sheet. These questions require students to think about the statistical analyses they have completed and consider what it tells them about the data. 

They may make observations regarding the differences between class periods or the data as a whole. Students’ responses allow you to understand their level of understanding regarding mean, median, range, histograms, and dot plots.

Bulletin board

This project can easily be displayed on bulletin boards or walls to help display the data for the different classes. Once students have completed the project, you can print their graphs and analyses to help further student discussions. Students tend to make more connections when they see different students’ interpretations of the data.