Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

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New York Hall of Science

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Computational Thinking: 3rd Grade — Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

Standards Alignment

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3

Represent and interpret data.

Student Learning Objective/s

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Students will be able to identify the dierent parts of a

bar graph.

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Students will be able to create a bar graph that repre-

sents a data set.

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Students will be able to answer questions based on a

bar graph.

Main Problem

(This should frame the ﬁnal solution/outcome):

Create and interpret bar graphs based on speciﬁc data.

Relevant Prior Knowledge

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Reading and interpreting simple, one category bar

graphs.

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Students will have been introduced to Computational

Thinking components Decomposition, Pattern Recogni-

tion, Algorithm, and Debugging.

Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

Computational Thinking: 3rd Grade Lesson

Subject: Math

Materials

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Pencil

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Paper

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Favorite Movie Types Worksheet

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Animal Headcounts at the Queens Zoo Worksheet

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Base 10 stacking blocks (for scaold group)

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Instructions CT speciﬁc elements are highlighted.

Pre-Activity

1. Have each student complete the Animal Headcounts

at the Queens Zoo Worksheet. This will prime pattern

recognition for both reading graph data as well as

graph labeling.

2. Review the worksheet as a group so that everyone

agrees with the proper labeling of each bar.

Main Activity

1. Let students know that we are going to be creating

and reading bar graphs using speciﬁc data. Ask

students to share what they already know about bar

graphs. (Here is a great opportunity for students

to practice their pattern recognition skills and draw

from prior experiences.). Gather responses on the

board, especially any responses about how bar

graphs are made and used. Examples may include

how bar graphs help us organize, visualize and

share data and often include a title, a speciﬁc scale

and are clearly labeled.

2. Ask students “What would be an eective way to

collect data about our favorite types of movies?

Should everyone vote at the same time? How are

we going to keep track of the data? What should the

total number of votes be?” Take a tally making sure

that students only vote once and that your end total

of votes equal the number of students in the class.

Some categories you can use for this activity are

drama, comedy, romance, and sci-ﬁ. Have everyone

take a minute to think about what they will choose

and then start collecting votes. (Note: this is just an

example, and your topic of choice could be anything

you feel your students are interested in, such as

music or book genres).

3. Now that we have collected our votes, have

students split into two groups, one responsible for

making a vertical bar graph and one responsible for

making a horizontal bar graph. Within each group,

students will turn to a partner and just discuss what

steps they would take to create a bar graph using

this data. Select a few student pairs from each the

horizontal graph group and the vertical graph group

to share their step by step process of creating a bar

graph. Highlight any dierences between the two

larger groups. (Here is an opportunity for students

to practice their algorithm skills and think of their

own step by step process of completing the task.)

4. As students share examples, have them each write

down an algorithm that they can use for the activity.

Here’s an example of one:

a. Review the data you collected.

b. Give your graph a title.

c. Decide on the scale for your graph.

d. Add labels.

e. Show your data using rectangular bars.

Have each student use the algorithm they’ve written

down to create their bar graph based on the class-

room data collected (they should do this on the

Favorite Movie Types Worksheet).

5. Students can compare with a partner and share

any dierences they notice in their algorithms and

responses to questions on the worksheet. (Here is

an opportunity for students to practice their debug-

ging skills and review their bar graph creation algo-

rithm to see if anything went wrong.) Each student

should complete the Favorite Movie Types Worksheet

and answer all the questions.

6. Once students have completed their worksheets,

review their responses to each question as a whole

class.

New York Hall of Science

•

Computational Thinking: 3rd Grade — Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

Dierentiation Strategy

Students requiring an added challenge can design their

own polling question and collect data from their fellow

classmates during step two of the main activity.

Students requiring more scaolding can be grouped

together and work with the teacher to create their bar

graph based on the classroom data collected. If this

group would beneﬁt from a more visual approach, this

app (

Kids’ Zone: Create a Graph

) can allow for the user

to plug in data and will generate a bar graph image. If

this group would beneﬁt from a more tactile approach,

they can create a model of their bar graph using base

10 stacking blocks before writing down their results on

the Favorite Movie Types Worksheet.

Debrief Questions

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What is a bar graph?

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What are the steps to creating a bar graph?

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What are the dierent labels for a bar graph?

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If students were already introduced to CT vocabulary

and deﬁnitions, you can ask them how they applied

Computational Thinking components to the activity

today.

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How can you use what we learned today about bar

graphs to help you in your real life?

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UDL (Universal Design for Learning) What speciﬁc

resources are needed for all of your students to be

successful with this lesson?

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Base 10 stacking blocks

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Kids’ Zone: Create a Graph

Assessment

To demonstrate completion of the learning objective,

students will have to:

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Identify the parts of a bar graph.

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Create a bar graph based on a collected set of data.

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Answer questions based on a bar graph they have

created for the activity.

New York Hall of Science

•

Computational Thinking: 3rd Grade — Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

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New York Hall of Science

•

Computational Thinking: 3rd Grade — Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

Name ............................................................................................Date ...................

Animal Headcounts at the Queens Zoo Worksheet

Which bar represents which animal? Follow the clues below and write labels

for each bar…

Animal Headcounts at the Queens Zoo

• There are more ducks at the Queens zoo than any other type of animal.

• There are fewer ducks than any other type of animal at the Queens zoo.

• There are only a few more coyotes than there are ducks at the Queens zoo.

• The Queens zoo has ten parrots.

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New York Hall of Science

•

Computational Thinking: 3rd Grade — Creating and Reading Bar Graphs

Name ............................................................................................Date ...................

Favorite Movie Types Worksheet

Input data, read and interpret the following bar graph to answer the

questions below:

Favorite Type of Movie

1. How many total students were surveyed? ______________________________

2. How many students preferred _______ over _______ movie type? _________

3. Which was the least favorite movie type? ______________________________

4. What other information can you get from looking at your graph?

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