Turning Small Classes into Big Learning: Creative Graphing with Limited Data

Teaching a small class can be an advantage, even when learning graphing skills where more data typically makes for more dynamic results. My students were learning how to create graphs, and we all know that to build graphs, we need data. With a smaller class, a limited data set could pose a challenge, but we found a creative solution! Each student was given their own “class” of small plastic animals and characters, which they named and assigned various characteristics to. Their next step was to come up with a question—because without a question, there’s no data to work with. The “class” of characters provided answers that allowed the students to generate the data they needed. It was also a lot of fun to play with these characters and for me to observe my students in their new teacher roles. 

From there, students drew their graphs manually, taking care to represent their data clearly. During their ICT lesson, they transferred their work to a computer program, learning how to design graphs digitally. This gave them the opportunity to compare their hand-drawn graphs with the ones created on the computer, critically analyzing which graphs were the clearest and most visually appealing. Not only did they learn the technical aspects of graphing, but they also gained experience in thinking about how to best present information to an audience—a skill useful in any future data-driven project!