Graphing in 2nd Grade

Our 2nd grade team has been working hard at introducing graphing to our students.  Our district is piloting a new curriculum this year.  Since we got a very late start with using the program, we know we will not finish teaching everything before the school year is over.  We looked ahead and are tacking the measurement strand.  For the past 2-3 weeks, we have focused on graphing.  The majority of our time has been spent on bar graphs and pictographs (the students will be exposed to line plots soon).

Our focus has been on 2.MD.D.10 – Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph.

Today we completed this bar graph activity (source: Super Teacher Worksheets).  It is recommended for grades 2-3.  I liked this one because we had to come up with the title, axis labels, scale, and graph the data.  This one did not have a single-unit scale and actually had more than four categories.  I did not think I was asking too much of my students for all of the work we have been doing so far.

For many of the worksheets we have used, there is usually a follow-up page with questions.  This particular graph did not come with questions.  So, what did I do?  I asked the kids to come up with them.  We went around and around the room.  A student would ask a question and then get to choose a different student to answer their question.  It was one of those lessons where the students were highly engaged…the type where you WISH you were being observed!!

Once I saw the level of engagement, I decided to push my students just a little further.  I gave them sticky notes.  You would have thought it was Christmas morning!  I told them that they all had to write down one question they could ask their peers.  If they finished that, they could have another sticky note.  You can only imagine the excitement building around the room.  In less than 5 minutes, this happened:

Yep, that is one growing pile of sticky notes.  Were they done?  Nope!  A few students wrote down 5 or 6 questions each.  

The following photos will show you a close-up of some of those questions:

 WARNING…Students did not receive any help with spelling, grammar, or punctuation.  These are their first draft questions:

I was pretty proud that they took the time to write thoughtful questions.  They really took to heart the types of questions they had been seeing during our previous graphing experiences.

Next week we are taking measurement to the next level.  I’ll try to remember to take some photos and share our measurement journey along the way.  Our entire 2nd grade team will be using this resource I created:

Wish us luck!!