#1805. Graphing Fun

Mathematics, level: Elementary
Posted Mon Jun 19 17:40:21 PDT 2000 by Marcia Goudie (MGoudie@aol.com).
Marcia's Lesson Links
Crescent Elementary, Suisun, Ca.
Materials Required: Listed
Activity Time: Varies
Concepts Taught: graphing

Magnetic Graphing Board and Graphing in the Primary Classroom

1) Flat rectangular oil drip pan-the big ones (for cars) aproximently 3x5. (about $10. At Wal-Mart)
2) Clear contact paper
3) clean frozen juice can lids (one for each student and the teacher)
4) colored construction paper (preferably a light color)
5) two rolls of stick on strip magnets or other magnets that have a sticky back.
6) sentence strips
7) teacher Tac

Cover the oil pan with the clear contact paper.
Draw a simple grid. Six rows going horizontally works great. Leave about three or four inches open at one end to write in the answers to the questions. I left the right end open. This allows 14 votes in any one row.
Clean the 21/2 inches in diameter juice can lids and cut circles to fit inside the lids.
Prepare the juice lids by attaching the magnets before giving them to the children.
Have the children draw their faces (and their name inside the bottom arch) to make it special identification badge.
At the beginning of every day, post a graphing question. Write it on a sentence strip or other paper and use teacher tac to attach it on the top of the graph board.
Either first thing in the morning or when the children have an extra minute they move their face (juice lid) to place their vote.
Take time during math to talk about the choices that everyone made.

Here is an extensive list of graphing questions. Someone shared them with me. . .I didn't think them up myself.

How Do You Like Your Apples? sliced sauce baked
Which do you like to color with? crayon marker
Does your jacket have a hood? yes no
Which milk do you like? white chocolate
What do you wear to keep your hands warm? mittens Gloves
How Do You Fasten your Shoes? buckles laces velcro
Have You Ever Gone Fishing? yes no
How many Letters are in Your Name?
Do You Brush and Floss? Brush Only Brush and Floss
Would You Rather Have a Pet with ... Fur Fins Feathers
What Kind Of Pizza Do You Like? Cheese Pepperoni Sausage
Which Soup Do You Like Best? Chicken Noodle Vegetable Tomato
Do You Like Watermelon? YES NO
What is Your Favorite Meal? BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER
Have You Ever Been to the Beach? YES NO
Which do You Like Best? Celery Carrot
How Old Are You? 5 6 7
Do you like to play inside or outside on a rainy day? inside outside
What is Your Favorite Dessert? Ice cream Cake pie
What is your favorite sport? football baseball basketball
How many people in your family?
Which fast-food restaurant do you like best? Wendy's Burger King McDonald's
How Do You Feel Today? Happy Mad Sad
Is your shirt Striped print plaid or solid?
What time did you go to sleep last night? 8 O'CLOCK 9 O'CLOCK LATER THAN9:30
How many televisions are in your house? 1 2 3 or more
Which holiday do you like best? Halloween Thanksgiving April's Fool Day
Are you left or right handed? left right

Using 2 postcards (Ex: Disney World Sea World) Graph Where you would like to go on vacation.
Using 2 - 3 video movie boxes have the kids graph their favorite movie.What's
Provide 2 - 3 cookies and have the kids graph their favorite one. (ex. sugar creme filled chocolate chip)
Provide 2 - 3 different juices and graph thri favorite. (EX. ORANGE APLLE CRANBERRY)
Provide 2 - 3 different kinds of cereal and graph their favorite. ( Ex. cheerios golden grahams Trix)
Color of hair, eyes
Number of boys and girls
Number of letters in names
Type of shoe
Favorite story, cartoon, super hero
Favorite fruit, vegetable
Number of family members
Favorite toothpaste
Number of brothers and sisters
Ways to get to school
Halloween costumes
Types of Halloween candy received
Favorite holiday
Favorite season
Type of home (apartment, house, etc.)
Number of teeth lost
Pets at home
Favorite pizza
Their age
Favorite piece of playground equipment
Favorite summer or winter activity

Yes or No graph
Do you have . . .
Do you like . . . .
Have you been to . . .
Do you enjoy . . .

Doing these activities a couple of times a week made a *huge* difference in
my student's Stanford scores last year! It only takes about 15 minutes
most days.

Are you left or right handed?
Are your hands clean or dirty when you came into the classroom this
morning?
Back pack/ lunchbox
Coats/sweaters
Color of eyes
Color of hair
Did you sleep well last night?
Do You Brush and Floss? (Brush Only, Brush and Floss)
Do you have a cat, a dog, or other animal?
Do you have a four-legged or two-legged pet?
Do you have a pet or no pet?
Do you have your own bedroom?
Do you like baths or showers?
Do you like to play inside or outside on a rainy day? (Inside,
outside)
Do You like Watermelon?
Do you read every day?
Do you think _______ will sink or float? (Science)
Have you ever been on a plane?
How did you feel about coming to school? Happy or sad
How did you get to school?
How do you feel on the first day of school?
How Do You Feel Today?
How do you get to school?
How Do You Like Your Apples? (Sliced, sauce, baked)
How many languages can you speak?
How many people are in your family?
How many vowels are in your name?
How old are you?
How your shoes are fastened: shoe laces, Velcro, buckles, slip-ons
Is your pet a reptile, mammal, fish, bird pet?
Kind of toothpaste
Lion and lamb graph...cool or warm weather
Long sleeves/short sleeves
Mode of transportation used when their family went on their last
holiday: car, bus, boat, train, plane, etc.
Month you were born
Number of bedrooms in your house
Number of boys and girls
Number of brothers and sisters
Number of letters in your first name
Number of pencils you have in your desk
Number of pets at home
Number of pockets on your clothing
Number of teeth lost
Provide 2 - 3 cookies and have the kids graph their favorite one.
Provide 2 - 3 different juices and graph their favorite.
Provide 2 - 3 different kinds of cereal and graph their favorite. (Ex.
Cheerios, golden grahams, Trix)
Shirt- patterned or solid color
Swimming-lake, ocean, pool
Their age
Time you go to bed
Time you wake up in the morning
Type of clothing worn that day: shorts, pants, T-shirt, sweater, vest,
etc.
Type of job they would like to have when they grow up
Using 2 - 3 video movie boxes have the kids graph their favorite movie.
Using 2 postcards (Ex: Disney World, Sea World) Graph Where you would
like to go on vacation.
What are you eating for lunch? hot lunch or cold lunch
What colour is your hair?
What did you have for breakfast?
What do you like to receive for presents? (Books, games, money, toys,
clothes)
What do you wear to keep your hands warm? (Mittens, Gloves)
What kind of home do you live in? Single-family, two-family flat,
four-family flat, apartment house, etc. (I found I had to introduce the
concept the day before and have kids check with parents.)
What Kind Of Pizza Do You Like? (Cheese, Pepperoni, Sausage)
What letter does your name start with
What they hope to do (or did) on their summer holidays: go to another
city (go on vacation), swim in a lake, go hiking, etc.
What you like best to write on (paper, chalkboard, magic slate, etc)
What you like best to write with (pencil, crayon, marker, chalk, etc)
What you will eat for lunch today
Which do you Like Best? (Celery, Carrot)
Which fast-food restaurant do you like best? (Wendy's, Burger King,
McDonald's)
Which milk do you like? (White, chocolate)
Which Soup Do You Like Best? (Chicken Noodle, Vegetable, Tomato)
Would You Rather Have a Pet with Fur, Fins, or Feathers
You could ask them to pick between two stories you read the day before
or two computer programs that they have done.

Favorites

Favorite activity
Favorite cartoon
Favorite Center
Favorite coin
Favorite color
Favorite day of the week
Favorite dinosaurs
Favorite food (meats, vegetable, dessert, drink, main dish, fast food,
etc)
Favorite fruit
Favorite game
Favorite holiday
Favorite ice cream
Favorite kind of music
Favorite meal
Favorite month of the year
Favorite penguins
Favorite pet
Favorite piece of playground equipment
Favorite pizza
Favorite rainy day activity
Favorite school lunch
Favorite season
Favorite 'special'
Favorite sport (Football, baseball, basketball)
Favorite story
Favorite story character
Favorite subject in school
Favorite summer activity
Favorite super hero
Favorite thing to read (book, magazine, comics, cereal box!),
Favorite toothpaste
Favorite transportation
Favorite vegetable
Favorite version of a story
Favorite way to travel
Favorite winter activity
Favourite after school activity
Favourite book title
Favourite literature genre
Favourite sport
Favourite time of day: morning, afternoon, evening
Favourite TV show

Yes or No

Are you wearing ______ today? (substitute any colour)
Did you brush your teeth this morning?
Did you eat a healthy breakfast?
Do you enjoy . .
Do you have . .
Do you have a pet?
Do you have a sister or brother?
Do you like . .
Have you been to . .
Have You Ever been to the Beach?
Does your jacket have a hood?
Have You Ever Gone Fishing?

Seasonal

At Christmas
Do you believe in Santa?
Do you have a real or artificial tree?
Do you have a wreath on your door?
Do you have Christmas lights out side your house?
Have you hung up a stocking?

At New Years
Did you make a resolution for the New Year?

On Saint Patrick's Day
Are you wearing green today?

At Thanksgiving
Do you eat dinner at home or away?
Do you have turkey for thanksgiving?
List some pies --children put their name under the Favorite one.

Halloween
Favorite Halloween costumes
Types of Halloween candy received

Marcia Goudie
2/3 grade
Crescent Elementary School
Suisun, California