The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has a section of their site called Kids' Zone. It drew my attention the other day when I was shown (by a wonderful teacher) the graphing tool from the site, called Create a Graph. I was blown away with how easy to use the tool is as well as what great graphs you are able to print from it.
Create a Graph allows you to create bar graphs, line graphs (both of which can be turned into multiple bar or line graphs), area graphs, pie graphs, and xy coordinate graphs. It is a simple process of working through simple tabs to set up the design, enter the data, and preview your graph. Once it has been created, you can print it, download it as a picture file, or email it to yourself so you are able to edit it in the future.
The tool would be a great way to integrate graphing into your lessons; an important piece for students to gain an understanding of data. Try collecting data from your own classroom and plot out the results! How do the heights of boys vs. girls compare? What have the temperatures been for the past week? How many students in the class prefer pepperoni pizza over cheese? Try it out as a class or have your students make their own!
I am not able to access the link for creating a graph through NCES Kids Zone - message says website is not available. Do you know if this is temporary?
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I was able to get the link to work today. If it is still not working for you, I would try a different browser, or make sure that you have the latest version of Flash Player installed for the browser you are using. Let me know if it keeps giving you trouble!
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