In this activity, students use data visualization methods presented in Dear Data: A Friendship in 52 Weeks of Postcards to introduce themselves at the beginning of the school year. Dear Data details a pen-pal data sharing project between two friends (Thriftbooks link). This activity will engage students with data in a fun and individualized way, strengthen data literacy skills, and if done early in the school year, build interpersonal relationships.
- Objective: Students create a visual representation of data they collect about themselves over a set period of time.
- Grades: 6, 7, 8 – adaptable to 9 thru 12
- Time: 2 class periods, data collection time frame flexible
- Author: Dean Holbrook
Arizona Standards Engaged
Science & Engineering Practices
Ask questions and define problems – Develop and use models – Plan and carry out investigations – Analyze and interpret data – Use mathematics and computational thinking – Construct explanations and design solutions – Engage in argument from evidence – Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information
Math Practices
Reason abstractly and quantitatively – Real world statistical information gathering – Data expression
