Turner's Graph of the Week

GOW October 22-26, 2018:
Powerball and MegaMillions
Jackpots & Winners

LINK: A Mathematical Reason to Buy a Ticket
LINK: When you should start to care about Powerball

How will my students benefit from this weekly assignment?

Objectives of GOW:

Students will become sharper, analytical thinkers in today's world.

Students are given the opportunity to communicate their critical thinking and analysis through writing and classroom discussion.

Common Core Math Standards MP1-MP4:

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Model with mathematics.

Just in case you missed it...

Recent GOWs

October 15-19, 2018:
Two-Parent Household in Decline

October 1-5, 2018
Our Mobile Phone Obsession: Number of Touches Per Day

October 8-12, 2018
Views on Abortion by Religion and Political Party Affiliations

The Student
Writing Prompt

Analyze the graph below and write a reflection on what you think the graph is communicating to you. To guide you with your response, start with some observations.

What is the topic of the graph?
What do the x-axis and y-axis represent?
What are some observations you can make based on the graph?
What do you foresee happening about 5 years from now?

Questions to ask your students when reading graphs:

Is there an upward or downward trend?
Are there any sudden spikes in the graph?
What is being compared in the graph?
What prediction can I make for the future?
What inferences can I make about the graph?

The New GOW: A 3-Part Analysis

For those of you who would like your students to engage in a deeper analysis of the GOW, this new format (2-sided) might be worth a try:

Part A: Analysis (same as what GOW is now)

Part B: What can you foresee happening in the near future?

Part C: Based on your response in Part B, what solution(s) can you investigate or what other information/resources can you gather to strengthen your argument?

I have found in recent years that some of my students want to share alternate perspectives to the information the graph portrays. They give historical context, present a counterargument by citing another source, or want to justify their stance based on personal experience or prior knowledge. I purposely left a bit of space after part C in case you may want students to make your own part D: you can have them create another graphical representation of their own, or make an illustration or cartoon, etc.

So this year, I'm trying out this new 3-part written analysis that will give my students a platform in which they can share a bit more. I can't wait to see what they come up with! Click on the image below.