Students measure the length of a gummy worm with a ruler. Students stretch the gummy worm as far as he/she can and measure the stretched gummy worm. Students identify the difference in length between the original and stretched gummy worm and record their findings.

For this task, students measure the span of their hands and use the data collected to create a line plot of their class measurements.

In this assessment task, students collect data on how other students get to school. Students also represent the data on charts and graphs.

Students determine the coefficient of restitution (or the elasticity) for super balls. Working in pairs, they drop balls from a meter height and determine how high they bounce. They measure, record and repeat the process to gather data to calculate average bounce heights and coefficients of elasticity. Then they extrapolate to determine the height the ball would bounce if dropped from much higher heights.

With this assessment task, students solve a measurement problem involving differences of lengths.

Students do work by lifting a known mass over a period of time. The mass and measured distance and time is used to calculate force, work, energy and power in metric units. The students' power is then compared to horse power and the power required to light 60-watt light bulbs.

For this assessment, students measure objects around the classroom in inches, then in feet. Students write to explain why measuring in inches is different than measuring in feet.

For this assessment, students measure objects at their desks in centimeters, then in inches. Students write to explain why measuring in centimeters is different from measuring in inches.

This article discusses how the study of weather can meet the NCTM Data Analysis and Probability standard. Links to lessons for grades K-2 and 3-5 are provided.

This is a 23-page educator's guide organized around three questions: How are rainfall rates measured? How is the intensity and distribution of rainfall determined? How can you study rain?

For this assessment task, students select the appropriate tool to measure keys and record their measurements. Using the measurement data, students place the data on a line plot.

Kindergarten Module 3: Comparison of Length, Weight, Capacity and Numbers to 10. Contains 32 lessons.

In this assessment task, students work with animal cards to create groups then represent the data in picture graphs.

This classroom activity, which centers on documenting the location of a meteorite in Antarctica, introduces students to the technology of Global Positioning Systems. The printable handout includes a series of inquiry-based questions to get students thinking about the challenges of marking exact positions in an area where the landscape is continually changing, illustrated activity directions and a worksheet that guides students through the way satellites are used in GPS and includes areas for recording their findings.

With this assessment task, students compare their foot to that of a giant and find the difference in lengths.

In this classroom activity, students cut apart a plastic soda bottle and create a planar (polar) and a cylindrical (Mercator) projection to understand the challenges of creating maps of the Earth. The printable handout includes a series of inquiry-based questions to get students thinking about the challenges of mapping a spherical object like the Earth, detailed activity directions and a worksheet that helps students use the activity results to understand how polar and Mercator projections are created and how both distort their subjects.

Distributions and Variability

Type of Unit: Project

Prior Knowledge

Students should be able to:

Represent and interpret data using a line plot.
Understand other visual representations of data.

Lesson Flow

Students begin the unit by discussing what constitutes a statistical question. In order to answer statistical questions, data must be gathered in a consistent and accurate manner and then analyzed using appropriate tools.

Students learn different tools for analyzing data, including:

Measures of center: mean (average), median, mode
Measures of spread: mean absolute deviation, lower and upper extremes, lower and upper quartile, interquartile range
Visual representations: line plot, box plot, histogram

These tools are compared and contrasted to better understand the benefits and limitations of each. Analyzing different data sets using these tools will develop an understanding for which ones are the most appropriate to interpret the given data.

To demonstrate their understanding of the concepts, students will work on a project for the duration of the unit. The project will involve identifying an appropriate statistical question, collecting data, analyzing data, and presenting the results. It will serve as the final assessment.

Students collect data to answer questions about a typical sixth grade student. Students collect data about themselves, working in pairs to measure height, arm span, etc. Students discuss characteristics they would like to know about sixth grade students, adding these topics to a preset list. Data are collected and organized such that there is a class data set for each topic for future use. Students are asked to think about how this data could be represented and organized.Key ConceptsFor data to be useful, it must be collected in a consistent and accurate way. For example, for height data, students must agree on whether students should be measured with shoes on or off, and whether heights should be measured to the nearest inch, half inch, or centimeter.Goals and Learning ObjectivesGather data about sixth grade students.Consider how data are collected.