MA.8.DP.1.3: Given a scatter plot with a linear association, informally fit a…
Given a scatter plot with a linear association, informally fit a straight line (an early start on a Grade 8 benchmark: the trend line drawn by eye).
The Florida's B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics outcome MA.8.DP.1.3 (Data Analysis and Probability) for Grade 8 says: “Given a scatter plot with a linear association, informally fit a straight line (an early start on a Grade 8 benchmark: the trend line drawn by eye).” This Fieldbook unit teaches it hands-on, with everyday materials and a printable teacher guide and student sheet for every lesson. Official wording: Florida's B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics.
Data Detectives Grade 5
How fast are our reflexes? Which graph is telling the truth? Do taller people really have bigger hands? Three lessons where students collect their own measurements and find out what numbers can and can't tell you.
- How fast are our reaction times? 50–60 min
Partners drop a ruler and catch it, five times with their writing hand and five times with the other hand. Students find the mean, median and range of their own catches and the class's, then decide whether our writing hand really is quicker.
- Which graph tells the truth? 50–60 min
Teams take the class's reaction-time results and draw two bar graphs of exactly the same numbers: one honest, one built to exaggerate. Then they hunt for the same tricks in a set of sneaky graphs and fix an advertisement's chart.
- Do taller people have bigger hands? 50–60 min
Students measure height and hand span, plot every person as one point on a scatter plot, and draw a trend line by eye. They decide whether taller people tend to have bigger hands, and learn the difference between a trend and a rule.
More Florida Grade 8 math outcomes we teach
Every Florida Grade 8 math standards outcome we teach
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