Educator s Guide to Excel Graphing Overview: Students will use Excel to enter data into a spreadsheet and make a graph. Grades and Subject Areas: Grade 3-6 Subject Math Objectives: Students will: make a pictograph with a handful of colored counters make a series of informed predictions by analyzing data sets understand the terms: spreadsheet, cell, range, adjacent, data set, wrap create a graph from the data they enter in their spreadsheet I Can Statements: I can make a pictograph. I can use my observations to make predictions. I can correctly use spreadsheet vocabulary. I can create a graph from the data I enter in my spreadsheet. Curriculum Connections: Alaska Content Standards: Math: A. A student should understand mathematical facts, concepts, principles, and theories. A student who meets the content standard should: 4) represent, analyze, and use mathematical patterns, relations, and functions using methods such as tables, equations, and graphs; Lindy Kinn December 2011 1
6) collect, organize, analyze, interpret, represent, and formulate questions about data and make reasonable and useful predictions about the certainty, uncertainty, or impossibility of an event. ISTE Student Standards: 2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media 3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students: a. plan strategies to guide inquiry 6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students: a. understand and use technology systems ISTE Teacher Standards: 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS S. Teachers: a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers: d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning Technology Integration: Hardware and Software Needs Teacher laptop Projector Student Laptops with Microsoft 11 Excel software Materials A handful of small counters of various colors for each student Lindy Kinn December 2011 2
Resources Web resources To find short tutorial videos about Excel, visit Atomic Learning at http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/home Lesson Plan Prep Time: 10 minutes Background Knowledge: Be familiar with making a pictograph Know basic computer skills Prior to Lesson: 1. Set up your document camera so that you can easily toggle between your computer image and your document camera image 2. Connect a laptop to the projector 3. Turn on projector Time Needed for Lesson: 45 minutes to 1 hr. Lesson: Model and instruct Use I do, you watch, then You do strategy to take the students through each step. Set Up the Spreadsheet 1. Open Excel 2. Cell A1 will be selected 3. Have students repeat this step Reviewing coordinates 1. Ask student to raise their hands if they have every played Battleship. (Most students have). 2. Then remind them that they needed to know how to use coordinates to play Battleship and they will need to use coordinates to work on a graph. 3. Touch different cells and call on students to name the coordinate of the cell you are touching. Lindy Kinn December 2011 3
Format the cells to wrap text Explain to students that they will be giving the computer commands. If you click on one cell and give the computer a command, it will apply it to that cell. Let them know that you want the computer to apply the command to many cells, so you must select a range of cells. 1. Hold down the shift key and click on cell D8 to select A1 to D8 The range of cells should now be highlighted 2. Have students repeat this step 3. In the Menu bar-click on Format 4. Drop down to and click on Cells 5. A pane will open 6. Click on the Alignment tab 7. Have students repeat this step 8. Click in the box next to Wrap Text 9. Have students repeat this step 10. Click OK Enter Color Headings 1. Click in cell A1 2. Type Counter Colors in cell A1 3. Press return to take your cursor to cell B1 4. Type Brown. 5. Press return to take your cursor to cell C1 6. Type Orange. 7. Press return to take your cursor to cell D1 8. Type Blue. 9. Press return to take your cursor to cell E1 10. Type Red. 11. Press return to take your cursor to cell F1 12. Type Yellow. 13. Press return to take your cursor to cell G1 14. Type Green You may need to change the color names to match the colors of whatever counters you are using with students. This is a great opportunity to point out that the headings should be capitalized like a title. Add Headings 1. Click in Cell A1 2. Press tab This is a great opportunity to explain the math term adjacent to students 3. Type Myself in cell B1 4. Press Tab Lindy Kinn December 2011 4
5. Type Friend 1 in cell C1 6. Press Tab 7. Type Friend 2 in cell D1 Have students repeat these steps Name and Save the document 1. Click on command s to save the document 2. Type in a name for your document and decide where to save it. The desktop is a good place to temporarily save documents. Have students repeat this step Make a pictogram 1. Toggle to your document camera 2. Model making a pictogram with counters by following the pattern of colors on the graph 3. Leave a row space in the pictogram if you have none of any color. It is a good idea to make sure you have zero of at least one color, in order to model this for students. 4. Do not have students make their own pictograms yet. Enter Data from your pictogram 5. Click on cell B2 6. Type in the number of brown counters from your pictogram. 7. Repeat until you have entered all the data from your pictogram into your spreadsheet. 8. Enter a zero if you had no counters of that color. First Estimation Talk to students about the estimation process. Point out that scientists make predictions based on data. The more data they collect, the more accurate their predictions will be. Ask students to make a prediction based on one set of data. Ask them which counter color they think will be most common for the whole class. Remind them that they should base this first prediction only on the data that you collected from your pictogram. Students Turn Have students build their own pictograms and enter their data into their spreadsheets. Remind students to layout their pictogram beside their computer instead of in front of the keyboard. Additional Data Sets 1. As students finish, call one up to share his or her data so that you can enter it in your spreadsheet under Friend 1 2. Repeat for Friend 2 3. Have students do the same with two friends sitting near them. Prediction Two Work as a group to make a new prediction based on the three sets of data in your spreadsheet. Lindy Kinn December 2011 5
Making Graphs This lesson is intended to be an introduction. This part of the lesson is intended to be exploratory and to give the students the opportunity to see the connection between data, spreadsheets, and graphs. A more in depth lesson on manipulating graphs may follow. Create the Graph You must highlight the data you want included before you make a chart or graph. 1. Click on cell A1 2. Hold down the shift key and click on cell D7. You have now selected a range. 3. Now cells A1...D7 are highlighted. 4. 5. 6. Click on Charts 7. Select Column 8. Choose a chart 9. A graph will pop up In this example I chose Clustered Column, but you could choose any graph that is appropriate for your students. Students Turn Go through the steps one by one, then have the students do each step after you model it. Make a Second Chart 1. Highlight your data again 2. Click on Charts 3. Pick a different chart to create 4. Allow students to experiment with making different kinds of graphs with the same data 5. You can delete a graph by clicking on the blue outline around it and clicking on the delete key Lindy Kinn December 2011 6
6. Wrapping Up the Lesson Analyze the results of the data. As you call out each color, have students raise their hands to show which color was most common for them. If they have a tie, have them choose one color. This is a good chance to review the predictions that the group made as they collected more data sets. Extension/Challenge: Explore other spreadsheet features If time allows, you may wish to demonstrate some of the other spreadsheet features. Total These are directions for automatically calculating the total number of each color in your spreadsheet 1. Click on cell E2 2. Type in the word Total 3. Click on B2 4. Hold down the shift key and click on D2 to select the range 5. Once the row is highlighted, Click on the Auto Sum Key 6. Repeat for each color Average These are directions for automatically finding the average for each color in your spreadsheet 1. Click on cell E2 2. Type in the word Average 3. Click on B2 4. Hold down the shift key and click on D2 to select the range 5. Once the row is highlighted, Click on the drop down arrow next to 6. Click on Average Follow Up Lesson A lesson about how to manipulate all the features in a graph would be a logical next step. Contact your ITT for help creating your own lessons. Everyday Math Connections EDM 5 th grade Unit 7 American Tour: Line Graphs and Project #5 How Would You Spend 1,000,000? EDM 6 th grade Lesson 9.2 Computer Spreadsheets Lindy Kinn December 2011 7