7Th Grade Lesson Plan

7th Grade Lesson Plan Context: Global Health

The focus of this context is to have students explore and interpret global data through a powerful and interactive website called Gapminder. Several important areas within the 7th grade Idaho Content and Practice Standards can be addressed through this context.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How can data displays be used to compare countries?

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN: Though a full range of 7th grade standards can be targeted through use of Gapminder’s site, this sample lesson plan and instructional sequence target the following:

7.SP.B Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.  7.SP.B.3 Informally assess the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions with similar variabilities, measuring the difference between the centers by expressing it as a multiple of a measure of variability. For example, the mean height of players on the basketball team is 10 cm greater than the mean height of players on the soccer team, about twice the variability (mean absolute deviation) on either team; on a dot plot, the separation between the two distributions of heights is noticeable.  7.SP.B.4 Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. For example, decide whether the words in a chapter of a seventh-grade science book are generally longer than the words in a chapter of a fourth-grade science book.

Given the scope of work involved in answering the Essential Question, it is likely that students will meet all eight of the Standards for Mathematical Practice. However, the bolded practices below are specifically targeted in this sample lesson:

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Materials: ● Individual or small group access to a device that will run the interactive bubble charts on Gapminder: https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#_locale_id=en;&chart-type=bubbles ● Slides: https://idoteach.boisestate.edu/modal/files/2017/04/7th_Grade_Global_Health_Slides.pptx ● Handout: https://idoteach.boisestate.edu/modal/files/2017/04/7th-Grade-Global-Health- Handout.docx

Instructional Sequence:

Time Activity Details Teacher Notes Prior to teaching this lesson, build your own familiarity with Gapminder and its various tools and features so you can answer students’ questions. THIS guide in particular is a quick go-to that can help orient you to the tool. Though it provides tips for the old bubble tool, many of the customizable features are the same. 5-10 Task 1: Prepare to be amazed! Provide students with the STUDENT minutes HANDOUT and have them draft two Have students watch this video: questions before opening up the Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 discussion to the class. minutes - The Joy of Stats posted to YouTube at the given URL. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jbkSRLYSojo&list=PLO_OaQZ3Gmd4HNe eB69s87pj8AK1iiJAk

Ask: What questions do you have about what we just watched? The same bubble chart has been updated since the video was produced. You can view it here: https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#_local e_id=en;&chart-type=bubbles if students want to know how the “story” progresses since 2009.

Allow time for clarifying questions and discussion.

10-15 Task 2: Explore the tool Just some of things that students can minutes change: Give students approximately 10-15 ● Variables on the x-axis (including changing minutes to investigate and explore the that axis to time, which will allow them to tool, with guidance from you as necessary only view/compare,analyze one variable to address their questions. at a time) ● Variables on the y-axis They can explore the menus of data ● Scales for each variable (linear or log) available, the countries, compare different● What the bubble size represents variables, etc. This is a time for them to ● Which countries they want to isolate or investigate things they are interested in or track even watch some of the videos posted ● The speed at which they view the charts, below the bubble chart: and pause them at different times ● The type of charts they view:

**At this grade level, you may not want to address the issue of logarithmic vs. linear scale unless a student brings it up.

You may want to simply instruct students to designate both scales as linear. ↓

10-15 Task 3: Pose the day’s Essential Question A way to extend this lesson is to allow minutes (found on Slide 6) How can data displays students to compare two variables, much be used to compare countries over time? like Hans Rosling did in the video.

Provide guidance so they examine Modeling this for students (see example variables for countries they are interested below) or chunking the directions may be in comparing with the x-axis set to time. a good idea. Students will investigate their chosen variable and countries using the following Here is a sample chart comparing daily steps: sugar consumption for Thailand and the • Select two countries that interest United States. you and check their box in the menu to the right. • Choose one variable you’d like to use in your comparison and set the y-axis to that variable. • Set the x-axis to time • Set the scale of the y-axis to linear. • Set the scale of the x-axis to linear. • Turn on the trails. • Play the animation. • Collect and display the data in It is the hope that students will be able to another way (see HANDOUT for compare the two sets of data using details). comparison language (e.g. People in the • What conclusions can you draw? US tend to eat more sugar each day than • Make a conjecture about why the people in Thailand) and talk about both differences you see occurred. the range of data and the overall trends (E.g. sugar consumption for both countries was lower in the 1960s and has increased steadily for both the US and Thailand).

Allowing students time to research some of the “Why?” questions that inevitably surface from these observations could provide a richer experience for them.

15-20 Task 4: (can be assigned as homework) Allow students to structure their minutes Prepare a 2-3 minute presentation that: presentation in whatever format they • Describes why you selected the deem best. Be prepared to ask them variable and countries you wanted probing questions such as: to compare • Includes the chart you created  What does your data indicate • Compares your two selected about the country with the countries using written and verbal (higher/lower) [selected variable]? statements.  Was that country always • Supports your comparison higher/lower? statements using an alternate  If not, when did the countries display of the data (E.g. box and switch positions? whisker plot, histogram, line plot,  What do you think caused the etc.) switch? • Provides your conjectures as to why  Does anything about the data the differences/similarities exist surprise you? Why?  Which country had the greatest spread of data? Why do you think that was the case?  Etc. 15-30 Task 5: Student Presentations Students can fill out feedback forms minutes (make as many copies of the last page of (Depending ASSESSMENT: STUDENT HANDOUT as needed) as they on # of groups Students present their charts, data watch each presentation to provide presenting) displays, conclusions, and conjectures to evidence that (a) they are paying an audience (other small groups, whole attention and (b) thinking critically about class, or to classes in other disciplines) and the information being shared. They could then allow the audience to ask questions. also complete a reflection after each or all Further exploration with the charts the of the presentations they viewed. You students presented should be encouraged. could ask them to reflect upon the variability they saw in the data for different countries, the strongest arguments made, what surprised them, what they are most interested in learning more about, etc.