Plotting the Temperature
5 min
Teacher Prep
Setup
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to remind students of associations in scatter plots, which will be useful when students analyze a scatter plot in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about the scatter plot, associations are the important discussion points. This Warm-up prompts students to make sense of a problem before solving it by familiarizing themselves with a context and the mathematics that might be involved (MP1).
Launch
Keep students in the same groups. Display the scatter plot for all to see. Ask students to think of at least one thing they notice and at least one thing they wonder. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time, and then 1 minute to discuss the things they notice and wonder with their partner.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- There is hardly any rainfall in the summer.
- Most of the rainfall happens in December through March.
- The high rainfall totals happen in December and March, and they are about 19 inches for each month.
- For some months (for example, March), the rainfall varies a lot year to year.
Students may wonder:
- Why does it rain less in the summer than in the winter?
- Why are the dots so spread out in the colder months?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
Ask students to share the things they noticed and wondered. Record and display their responses without editing or commentary for all to see. If possible, record the relevant reasoning on or near the scatter plot. Next, ask students, “Is there anything on this list that you are wondering about now?” Encourage students to observe what is on display and respectfully ask for clarification, point out contradicting information, or voice any disagreement.
If the association between month and amount of rain does not come up during the conversation, ask students to discuss this idea.
Discuss what each point in the scatter plot represents (rainfall during that month for one given year). Ask students to describe general patterns visible in the plot. Ask, “Is there a pattern of association?” (Yes, it is not linear, but it is possible to say that there is more rain in the winter and less rain in the summer.)
Standards
- 8.SP.A·Investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.
- 8.SP.A·Investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.
15 min
15 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
No KCs tagged for this lesson
Plotting the Temperature
5 min
Teacher Prep
Setup
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to remind students of associations in scatter plots, which will be useful when students analyze a scatter plot in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about the scatter plot, associations are the important discussion points. This Warm-up prompts students to make sense of a problem before solving it by familiarizing themselves with a context and the mathematics that might be involved (MP1).
Launch
Keep students in the same groups. Display the scatter plot for all to see. Ask students to think of at least one thing they notice and at least one thing they wonder. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time, and then 1 minute to discuss the things they notice and wonder with their partner.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- There is hardly any rainfall in the summer.
- Most of the rainfall happens in December through March.
- The high rainfall totals happen in December and March, and they are about 19 inches for each month.
- For some months (for example, March), the rainfall varies a lot year to year.
Students may wonder:
- Why does it rain less in the summer than in the winter?
- Why are the dots so spread out in the colder months?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
Ask students to share the things they noticed and wondered. Record and display their responses without editing or commentary for all to see. If possible, record the relevant reasoning on or near the scatter plot. Next, ask students, “Is there anything on this list that you are wondering about now?” Encourage students to observe what is on display and respectfully ask for clarification, point out contradicting information, or voice any disagreement.
If the association between month and amount of rain does not come up during the conversation, ask students to discuss this idea.
Discuss what each point in the scatter plot represents (rainfall during that month for one given year). Ask students to describe general patterns visible in the plot. Ask, “Is there a pattern of association?” (Yes, it is not linear, but it is possible to say that there is more rain in the winter and less rain in the summer.)
Standards
- 8.SP.A·Investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.
- 8.SP.A·Investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.