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High and Low Temperatures
(A Monthly Bulletin Board)

Subjects

Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts
--Visual Arts
Educational Technology
Mathematics
--Applied Math
--Arithmetic
--Measurement
--Statistics
Science
--Physical Science
----Earth Science
----Environmental
--Natural History
Social Studies
--Current Events
--Geography
--History
----State/Local History

Grade

K-2
3-5
6-8
9-12

Brief Description

Plot daily high/low temps on this bulletin board. Follow-up activities included.

Objectives

Students will

  • record and participate in plotting the daily high and low temperatures on a class bulletin board.
  • compare and contrast high/low (average, median, etc.) temperatures across the month/year.
  • use the bulletin board/data to answer questions about the weather.

Keywords

temperature, average, graph, line graph, median, mode, average, data, National Weather Service

Materials Needed

  • art materials, including markers, to create a bulletin board grid on which temperatures will be recorded/graphed
  • pushpins
  • red yarn (to plot high temperatures) and blue yarn (to plot low temperatures)
  • a source for weather data

Lesson Plan

Use this bulletin board graph activity to provide students with a visual representation of high and low temperatures in your community for a month. At the end of the month, students can use the data collected to answer questions, calculate the average high and low temperatures for the month, and other grade-appropriate follow-up activities. This bulletin board can be used for one month or all year long.

Divide your bulletin board space into a grid that presents the days of the month across the x-axis (31 spaced lines) and the temperatures up the y-axis.

If you plan to use the bulletin board all year long, you might change numbers along the y-axis from month to month or the numbers on your graph bulletin board might represent the range of temperatures you will see during the school year. For example, if you live in Minneapolis, the y-axis temperatures will range from -10F to 95F. If you live in Miami, the y-axis temperatures might range from 30F to 100F.
Use a local news, weather, or TV resource as your official temperature source. Use the same source all month long so you can be assured of consistent data.

Each day, plot the high temperature of the day and the low temperature. Stick a pushpin into the bulletin board at the points on the y-axis that represent each days high and low temperatures.

  • Use red yarn to connect the pushpins that represent daily high temperatures.
  • Use blue yarn to connect the pushpins that represent daily low temperatures.
At the end of the month, your graph might look something like the one you see below that shows one years January temperature data from Marshall, Minnesota. (Note: In addition to the daily highs and lows, this graph shows normal temperatures" for the month. If you teach older students, you might include that normal temperature" data on your bulletin board as well.)

Extend the Lesson

Read the graph.
At the end of the month, you might create a work sheet that poses grade-appropriate questions about the stats/data for the month. Students will use the work sheet to answer questions about the graph. For example, you might ask students to identify:

  • the highest temperature for the month;
  • the date of the lowest temperature of the month;
  • the number of days in the month on which the high temperature reached x or higher;
  • the range of temperatures (high temperature minus low temperature = range);
  • the median low temperature for the month (the temperature in the middle; half the days had higher low temperatures and half the days had a lower high temperatures);
  • the average temperature for the month;
  • and so on

Technology integration.
You might have students enter the data for the month into the free online Create a Graph tool to create individual graphs. This is a nice computer lab activity for the entire class.

Take a photograph of your bulletin board graph for the month.

Assessment

Assess students based on their participation in creating the graph and in their responses to your grade-appropriate questions about the graph.

Lesson Plan Source

EducationWorld.com

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.7 Evaluating Data
NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing Research Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills

MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-NUM.PK-2.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
NM-NUM.PK-2.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another
NM-NUM.PK-2.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
NM-NUM.3-5.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another
NM-NUM.3-5.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
NM-NUM.6-8.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another
NM-NUM.6-8.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-NUM.9-12.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
NM-NUM.9-12.2 Understand Meanings of Operations and How They Relate to One Another
NM-NUM.9-12.3 Compute Fluently and Make Reasonable Estimates

MATHEMATICS: Measurement
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-MEA.PK-2.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
NM-MEA.PK-2.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-MEA.3-5.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
NM-MEA.3-5.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-MEA.6-8.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
NM-MEA.6-8.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-MEA.9-12.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
NM-MEA.9-12.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements

MATHEMATICS: Data Analysis and Probability
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-DATA.PK-2.1 Formulate Questions That Can Be Addressed With Data and Collect, Organize, and Display Relevant Data to Answer
NM-DATA.PK-2.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data
NM-DATA.PK-2.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-DATA.3-5.1 Formulate Questions That Can Be Addressed With Data and Collect, Organize, and Display Relevant Data to Answer
NM-DATA.3-5.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data
NM-DATA.3-5.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-DATA.6-8.1 Formulate Questions That Can Be Addressed With Data and Collect, Organize, and Display Relevant Data to Answer
NM-DATA.6-8.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data
NM-DATA.6-8.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-DATA.9-12.1 Formulate Questions That Can Be Addressed With Data and Collect, Organize, and Display Relevant Data to Answer
NM-DATA.9-12.2 Select and Use Appropriate Statistical Methods to Analyze Data
NM-DATA.9-12.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data

MATHEMATICS: Communications
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-COMM.PK-12.1 Organize and Consolidate Their Mathematical Thinking Through Communication
NM-COMM.PK-12.2 Communicate Their Mathematical Thinking Coherently and Clearly to Peers, Teachers, and Others

MATHEMATICS: Connections
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-CONN.PK-12.1 Recognize and Use Connections Among Mathematical Ideas NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics

MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.1 Create and Use Representations to Organize, Record, and Communicate Mathematical Ideas
NM-REP.PK-12.2 Select, Apply, and Translate Among Mathematical Representations to Solve Problems
NM-REP.PK-12.3 Use Representations to Model and Interpret Physical, Social, and Mathematical Phenomena

SCIENCE
GRADES K - 4
NS.K-4.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.K-4.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 5 - 8
NS.5-8.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.5-8.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
GRADES 9 - 12
NS.9-12.4 Earth and Space Science
NS.9-12.6 Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
NSS-G.K-12.5 Environment and Society
NSS-G.K-12.6 Uses of Geography

TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.3 Technology Productivity Tools
NT.K-12.4 Technology Communications Tools
NT.K-12.5 Technology Research Tools

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    08/21/2010



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