ToulsonP_Information Literacy Lesson and Pathfinder

8/4/2019 ToulsonP_Information Literacy Lesson and Pathfinder

1/12

Patrice Toulson 1

Information Literacy Lesson Plan

Patrice Toulson

FRIT 7136Dr. Stephanie Jones

Fall 2009

Pathfinder URLhttp://sites.google.com/site/toulsonspathfinder
http://sites.google.com/site/toulsonspathfinderhttp://sites.google.com/site/toulsonspathfinder


2/12

Patrice Toulson 2

Information Literacy Lesson Plan

GRADE: 6th Grade Math Class

TEACHER(S): Patrice ToulsonAnne Lamb

CONTENT TOPIC: Finding the mean and median and graphing the data in Microsoft Excel

STANDARDS FOR THE 21ST

-CENTURY LEARNER GOALS

Standard 1: Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge.

Skills Indicator(s): 1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular

subjects and make the real-world connections for using this process in own life.

Benchmark(s): Use a critical-thinking process that involves asking questions, investigating the

answers, and developing new understandings for personal or academic independent-learningactivities.

Dispositions Indicator(s):

1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats.

Responsibilities Indicator(s):1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information.

1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community.

1.3.5 Use information technology responsibly.

Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):

1.4.2 User interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process.

1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.


3/12

Patrice Toulson 3

Standard 2: Draw conclusions, making informal decisions; apply knowledge to new situations,

and create new knowledge.

Skills Indicator(s): 2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-

thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge inorder to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.

2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular

areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.

2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create

products that express new understandings.

Benchmark(s): 2.1.1 Interpret information and ideas by defining, classifying and inferringfrom information in text.

2.1.3 Draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information.2.1.4 Identify and apply common productivity tools and features such as menus and toolbars

to plan, create, and edit word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

2.1.6 - Create products that incorporate writing, visuals, and other forms of media to convey

message and main points.

Dispositions Indicator(s): 2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products

to express learning.

Responsibilities Indicator(s): 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.

Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):

1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or weaknesses.


4/12

Patrice Toulson 4

CONNECTION TO LOCAL OR STATE STANDARDS

(List here relevant content, information literacy, and technology standards)

M6D1 Students will pose questions, collect data, represent and analyze data, and interpret

results.a) Formulate questions that can be answered by data. Students should collect data by using

samples from a large population (survey), or by conducting experiments.

b) Using data, construct frequency distributions, frequency tables, and graphs.

c) Choose appropriate graphs to be consistent with the nature of the data (categorical ornumerical). Graphs should include pictographs, histograms, bar graphs, line graphs, and

line plots.

d) Use tables and graphs to examine variation that occurs within a group and variation thatoccurs between groups.

e) Relate the data analysis to the context of the questions posed.

MSBCS-BCSI-9: Students will develop and apply basic spreadsheet skills.

OVERVIEW:

Sixth grade students learn to calculate mean and median in their math class. After they learn this

concept, they gather data on the height of sixth grade students in their classroom and compare

their height to NBA professional players. They use the information gathered to examine theconnection between data distribution and measures of central tendency. They manipulate the

data and then examine various types of graphs to determine which graph will be most beneficial

in expressing the data so the students can understand its meaning. They will use formulas inExcel to determine the mean and median of their data.

FINAL PRODUCT:

The students manually calculate the mean and median of the data they collect. Then the

students produce an Excel Spreadsheet that includes formulas that show the mean and median

of the data collected. They will graph the data in numerous ways to determine which graph bestexpresses the data. They will have an explanation of which graph worked the best and why and

how their manually calculated data compares to the mean and median that was calculated

through formulas.


5/12

Patrice Toulson 5

LIBRARY LESSON(S):

Students will learn to gather data dealing with real-world information. The math teacher will go

over the lesson on mean and median and will teach this concept to the students. After the math

teacher completes her lesson, the media specialist will assist the students in gatheringinformation on the height of sixth grade students in their classroom. After gathering the data,

the students will convert the height of the students from feet to inches. Calculators may be usedfor the special needs students. Then the media specialist will take the students to the computer

lab and give them a website (www.nba.com) to use to gather height information forprofessional NBA players. They will convert their heights to inches as well. Again, the specialneeds students may use calculators for the conversion. After all data is gathered, the media

specialist will have a lesson with the students on how to create an excel spreadsheet, input data,

use formulas and graph in Microsoft Excel using fictitious information. After the Excel lessonis delivered and it is believed all the students understand how to use an Excel Spreadsheet, the

students will input the actual data gathered into an Excel spreadsheet, use formulas to find the

mean and median, and graph the data to compare the data between the sixth grade students inrelation to the NBA players. The students will use various graphs to determine which graph best

expresses the data.

ASSESSMENT

Product - Teacher, media specialist and students will use a teacher-developed rubric to assess

the collection of data, conversion of data from feet to inches, graphing of data and an

explanation on which graph works best in comparing sixth grade students heights to NBAplayers heights.

Process - Teacher and media specialist use daily tickets out the door to confirm the students

are understanding the lesson being taught. They also use the final product Excel spreadsheetto determine if the students understand how to use formulas to find the mean and median and

use graphs to compare data. The teacher and media specialist will use a rubric to grade theoverall product.

Student self-questioning

1) What is data?2) Why are we collecting data?3) What can I learn from this data being gathered?

4) How can this data be helpful to me in finding mean and median?5) What technology tools will help me organize and make sense of the data I collected?

6) Why do we graph data?7) Will my manual calculations of mean and median be the same as the mean and median

that were determined using formulas in Microsoft Excel?

8) What would happen to the mean if we didnt include the NBA players?
http://www.nba.com/http://www.nba.com/


6/12

Patrice Toulson 6

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN

Resources students will use:

Online subscription database(s) Web sites Books Reference

Nonprint Periodicals/newspapers Other (list): Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

Computers and Projector

www.nba.com

Instruction/activities

o Direct instruction: The media specialist will assist the students in gathering data on

the height of their sixth grade classmates and monitor them as they convert theirheights from feet to inches. The media specialist will take the students to a

computer lab and give them a website to use to gather data on the heights of

professional NBA players. The media specialist will monitor how the studentsconvert these measurements from feet to inches. After all the data is collected,

the media specialist will introduce Microsoft Excel to the students on how to

create a spreadsheet, use formulas to find the mean and median and formulategraphs to compare the data collected.

o Modeling and guided practice: Using the data gathered by the students using

information from the sixth grade students and information from the website onNBA players, the students will create an Excel spreadsheet and will input the

data collected while the media specialist monitors. They will try manipulating

the data with different graphs to determine which graph represents the data most

effectively. They will use formulas to determine the mean and median.

o Independent practice: Students will gather the data from fellow students and theNBA website. Then, they will input the data collected into the Excel

spreadsheet, use formulas to determine mean and median and graph the data in

multiple formats. Then they will get ready to present to the class their graphs

and explanations on why their choice of graph is the best one to express the datagathered.

o Sharing and reflecting: While using a computer and an overhead projector, thefinal product of the Excel graphs will be shown in the classroom. After looking

at these graphs, the students will answer a few questions:1) Why is the mean height larger than the median height?2) What impact do the basketball players have on either of these measures?

3) What would happen to the mean and median if we excluded the basketball

players data from the graph? Why?
http://www.nba.com/http://www.nba.com/


7/12

Patrice Toulson 7

Rubric:

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Your

Score

DataCollection Collectscomplete andaccurate data

Collectsaccurate data Produces someerrors in datacollecting

Inaccurate datacollected due todesign flaw.

Conversion ofdata from feet

to inches

Conversion wascomplete with

accurate

numbers.

Most of theconversions

were correct.

Some of theconversions

were correct.

Conversionswere

inaccurate.

Manually

formulated

mean andmedian of

data collected

Manually

formulated

mean andmedian was

completelyaccurate.

One of the

numbers was

correct.

Neither of the

numbers for

mean andmedian were

correct

Did not attempt

to manually

calculate themean and

median.

Graphs Produces at

least 3 graphsto determine

which graph

best expresses

the data

Produces at

least 2 graphs todetermine which

graph best

expresses the

data

Produces at

least 1 graph todetermine

which graph

best expresses

the data

There were no

graphscompleted.

Legend There is a

legend that waseasy to read and

contained allthe informationneeded to

understand the

data.

Legend

contained someinformation

needed todescribe thedata.

Legend contains

inaccurateinformation that

described thedata.

There was no

legend.

Labeling of X

axis and Y

axis

The X and Y

axis have a

clear, neat labelthat

describes the

units.

The X and Y

axis have one

label thatdescribes the

unit correctly.

The X and Y

axis have a

label but doesnot describe the

units accurately.

The X and Y

axis are not

labeled.

Title Title is creative,clearly relates

to the problem

being graphed,

and is printed atthe top of the

graph.

Title clearlyrelates to the

problem being

graphed, and is

printed at thetop of the graph.

A title is presentat the top of the

graph.

No title ispresent.


8/12

Patrice Toulson 8

Formulas

used inMicrosoft

Excel

Formulas used

in MicrosoftExcel to

determine mean

and median are

correct.

One of the

formulas used inMicrosoft Excel

to determine

mean and

median wascorrect.

Neither of

formulas usedin Microsoft

Excel to

determine mean

and medianwere correct.

Did not attempt

to use a formulato determine

mean and

median.

Neatness and

Organization

The work is

presented in a

neat, organized

way that is easyto understand.

The work is

presented in a

neat, organized

way that isusually easy to

understand.

The work is

presented in an

organized way

but issometimes hard

to understand.

The work is

presented in a

sloppy,

unorganizedway that is very

hard to

understand.

Analyzing

Data

Analysis is well

thought out and

indicates agreat

understanding

of the data.

Analysis is well

thought out and

indicates a fairlygood

understanding

of the data.

Analysis

indicates some

understandingof the data.

Analysis

indicates very

littleunderstanding

of the data.

Presentation The

presentationshowed the

student

understood theconcept of

mean and

median andgraphing the

data

The presentation

showed thestudent had a

fairly good

understandingof the concept

of mean and


data.

The

presentationshowed the

student had

someunderstanding

of the concept

of mean andmedian and

graphing the

data.

The

presentationshowed very

little

understandingof the concept

of mean and


data.

Your Score:

Rating Scale:

Score Rating Grade

11 Unacceptable 65

12-26 Unacceptable 75

27 - 41 Acceptable 85

42-44 Target 95


9/12

Patrice Toulson 9

Assessment Results:

The rubric proved to be a very useful assessment tool for this project. It gave the students an

understanding from the beginning of what was expected of them and it gave the teachers anunderstanding of what exactly to look for when grading. The majority of the students did anexceptional job on this project. They gathered the data and put it in the Excel spreadsheet and

were able to find the mean and median of the data by using formulas and graph the findings.

Then, they did a really good job presenting the information to their classmates. According to therubric that I assessed, the student breakdown is shown below:

Student Grade Explanation if any

Shabreia 44

Alyea 11 Special Ed Student with severe

hearing problemsAlesha 25 Special Ed Student

Brandon 42

Dontavious 42

Nikeria 42

Kristopher 42

Clifford 40

Kane 42

Bobby 42

Malik 42

Billy 14 Special Ed Student - ADHD

Marquella 42Kaneisha 43

James 40

Dontavis 44

Based on the above data, 69% reached the target score of 42-44. The percentage that reached the

acceptable mark was 12.5%. The percentage of students who scored in the unacceptable level

was 18.5%. The 18.5% that scored in the unacceptable range are students that are in the specialeducation program. One of these students only missed the acceptable range by 2 points. So, as

you can see based on the data above, the students did very well and it appears that they grasped

the concept of mean and median and how to input data they collected into an Excel Spreadsheet,

formulate the mean and median by using formulas and graphing the data so that it best expressesthe data being compared.


10/12

Patrice Toulson 10

Tickets Out the Door:

Along with the final rubric that was used to assess the students, tickets out the door were alsoused. The day that I took the students to the lab to teach them how to use Excel using fictitious

data, the ticket out the door was What questions do you have about gathering data and inputting

the data into an Excel spreadsheet, using formulas to come up with the mean and median andgraphing the information? By answering this question, the students helped me have a better

understanding of what they didnt understand and what I needed to do to explain it better.

The day that the students actually put their collected data into the Excel spreadsheet, the ticket

out the door was What other areas in our lives could we use mean and median to help us

understand information better? This will help the media specialist and teacher see if the students

have a clear understanding of what mean and median are and how they can use them in their reallife situations.


11/12

Patrice Toulson 11

Reflection:

First of all, time was a major issue. I worked with a sixth grade math teacher. Ialso teach full time so this was a difficult task. The only saving grace was that I was

able to work with her during my planning period. I utilize my planning period daily

for work in the classes that I teach so my actual classes may have gone a little lackingduring this time but we all managed to get by.

The teacher I worked with was very easy to work with. We collaborated well

together and she was extremely helpful in assisting me. The initial collaboration wasa little difficult because our planning periods were not the same. So again, time was

our biggest issue. We soon realized that email was our best source in communicating

and creating our roles for this project. Our personalities complimented each other.

Her personality is very aggressive and quick to get things done. Mine is more laidback and more passive. We established the roles that we each would do and assisted

each other. When she taught the lesson on mean and median, I walked around the

room and assisted the students who were not grasping the concept. We each assisted

the students when they were measuring sixth grade students and converting theheights to inches. Then when I took the students to the lab to research on the website

and teach Excel spreadsheets, formulas and graphing, she was their assisting me.The major issue that I may change with this lesson was gathering the data. It was

pretty chaotic when the students were trying to gather the heights of their fellow

students and converting the data to inches. We put the students in groups to do this.

Sometimes group work gets a little noisy and hectic. Some of the students hadtrouble with the conversion. Maybe it would be better after the students got the

measurements of their classmates if the students would get back to their desk and the

teacher/media specialist and the students did the conversion together using theActivBoard.

The actual lab experience with the students went very well. Usually when

students are in front of a computer, things go well. The boys really enjoyed gatheringthe data from the NBA site because most of them were familiar with the players and

thought this was pretty cool getting information about some of their favorite players.

Most of the girls did not get too excited about the subject we were collecting data on.Maybe the next time, I could figure out a subject to research that both genders could

get excited about. All the students enjoyed using the Excel spreadsheet and creating

the graphs that went along with the information. The teacher stated that normally

with this lesson she has the students draw out the charts on construction paper. Shesaid the Excel spreadsheet graphs were so much more graphic and brought the

information to life with the students so much better than when they draw it out on

paper. The only negative thing about the Excel spreadsheet usage was the teacherwas not that comfortable with the program. She had not had an opportunity to use

Excel very much so she had to somewhat learn the program along with the students in

order to help them. I should have checked on this prior to teaching Excel. However,this did not pose a large problem. I taught Excel to the students using fictitious

information before I actually let them put in the real data. So, the majority of the

students picked up on the program very easily.

All in all, I think the lesson went very well. I think the students benefited fromthe collaboration between me and their math teacher. I think the students were able to

grasp the concept of mean and median with the usage of real life data and seeing it


12/12

Patrice Toulson 12

come to life in an Excel graph. The math teacher agreed that she believes the Excel

graph helped them see it better versus drawing it on construction paper.

Although this was a lot of work, the teacher asked if I would help her with a fewof her classes in the future when our schedules would coincide. So, this made me feel

like overall it was successful.

Documents

ToulsonP_Information Literacy Lesson and Pathfinder