Lesson Plans : Math
Correlation/ Cause and Effect – Sharks vs Ice Cream
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: 45 minutes Overview: Is there a connection between shark attacks and ice cream sales? Knowing and recording information is important, but making correct conclusions is the key to meaningful knowledge and accurate understanding. Students will use graphs and data from the “Let’s Get Healthy” fair to identify comparative strengths of correlations and how correlations correspond to cause and effect. They will identify graphs depicting comparative strengths, analyze data from the “Let’s Get Healthy” fair, and determine correlations don’t always show a cause and effect. Key Concepts and Standards: Key Objectives • Students will identify graph depicting comparative…
Grade Levels: Middle School
Subjects: Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies
Key Concepts: Research Methods, Using Data
Applying “Project Citizen” to Let’s Get Healthy!
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: Varies with level and resolution. Students focusing on identifying an individual goal and writing it up as a S.M.A.R.T. Goal will take about 45 minutes. Project Citizen will require a more extended commitment of time to complete all six steps and to present final portfolio(s) to a governing body whether that is a school's administration, school board, local city council or state legislative committee. Overview: Project Citizen, a program co-sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, is a curriculum where students learn how to influence public policy by studying problems in their own community. It is designed…
Grade Levels: High School, Middle School
Subjects: Health, Language Arts, Math, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Key Concepts: Advocacy, Healthy Choices, Using Data
Four Statistics Exercises using Adolescent Body Mass Index (BMI) Data
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: 1-2 class periods Overview: Students use data collected at Let’s Get Healthy! school events to 1) learn the differences between observational studies and experiments; 2) apply descriptive statistics to data; 3) construct and interpret confidence intervals; and 4) perform statistical hypothesis testing with authentic Let's Get Healthy! data. This lesson is designed to introduce students to the concept of confidence intervals for sample means and the reason for the sample size requirement when data is not normally distributed. The exercise uses data from the “Let’s Get Healthy” health fairs conducted in 2010-2011 school year from nine middle…
Grade Levels: High School
Subjects: Math, Statistics
Key Concepts: Using Data
Statistics! – Understanding Confidence Intervals
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: 1-2 class periods Overview: How confident are you that a number will fall within a certain range? Explore confidence intervals with your students! Great for data or election polls! Created for advanced placement (AP) statistics classes. This lesson is designed to introduce students to the concept of confidence intervals for sample means and the reason for the sample size requirement when data is not normally distributed. The exercise uses data from the “Let’s Get Healthy” health fairs conducted in 2010-2011 school year from nine middle schools from eight school districts. The exercise is designed so that individual…
Grade Levels: High School
Subjects: Math, Statistics
Key Concepts: Using Data
Healthy Habits- Pre-activity for Let’s Get Healthy! fair
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: 20-40 min Overview: This pre-fair activity helps students orient to what to expect at the fair. The lesson consists of a power point showing the students what to expect at the Let’s Get Healthy! fair, notes embedded in the powerpoint to give the teacher some background on the various stations, a worksheet for the students to fill out during the power point, and worksheet for them to summarize what they learned at the Let’s Get Healthy! fair. Key Concepts and Standards: Key Concepts: To prepare students for the Let’s Get Healthy! fair so they can gain…
Grade Levels: Elementary, High School, Middle School
Subjects: Art, Health, Language Arts, Math, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Statistics, Technology
Key Concepts: Fair Preparation, Research Methods
Physical activity – How healthy are you?
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: Five 45 minute lessons Overview: Students will analyze their own physical activity level, present their data, and compare it to the suggested activity level for adolescents. This lesson is a unit consisting of five smaller lessons. It can be used for physical education or health classes or as part of math, statistics or science classes related to how to collect data and administer surveys. Lesson 1: Gathering information – taking an activity survey Lesson 2: What the Experts Say – Wed-based article review in a “Jigsaw” fashion Lesson 3: Making data make sense – creating an organized…
Grade Levels: Elementary, Middle School
Subjects: Health, Math, Physical Education, Science, Statistics
Key Concepts: Advocacy, Fair Preparation, Healthy Choices, Research Methods, Using Data
Graph Literacy
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: Three stand-alone lessons, each one class period Overview: This lesson includes three graphing lessons that can be taught independently or as a unit to help students analyze and explain graphs. Includes lessons on 1) using graphs to infer relationships between variables; 2) common mistakes and intentional distortions in graphs; and 3) interpreting a graph and writing a narrative summary. The lessons are intended to help students analyze and explain graphs and are not intended to help students make their own graphs. Key Concepts and Standards: Key Concepts: How to read and explain a line graph, pie…
Grade Levels: Middle School
Subjects: Math, Science, Social Studies
Key Concepts: Research Methods, Using Data
Changes in American Mortality
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Estimated Lesson Duration: 90 min Overview: Students will use selected mortality statistics from 1900-2010 to see how the major causes of death in the United States have changed since the early 20th century. Students will be able to read data tables and extract specific information, chart chronological information on a line graph, and interpret that data in a historical context. <Fun fact: Just days after this lesson was written, an article came out in the New England Journal of Medicine with the exact same finding! See the NEJM article here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1113569> Key Concepts and Standards: Key Concepts: Students will be…
Grade Levels: High School, Middle School
Subjects: Math, Science, Social Studies
Key Concepts: Healthy Choices
