Kindergarten students helped their 4th Grade friends as they worked on a unit about generating and representing measurement data in October. Throughout this unit, the 4th Grade girls have been organizing ordered, numerical data to describe a data set, using a line plot to represent ordered, numerical data, and representing two sets of data in order to compare them. They also considered how well a data representation communicates information to an audience and using a line plot to represent measurement data that includes fractions. 

As a part of the unit, the 4th Grade and Kindergarten worked together on a data collection project. The girls spent some time on comparing data sets and describing and summarizing data. As an example, girls  worked to answer the question, “How much taller is a fourth grader than a first grader?” The girls used their skills to describe and summarize the data choosing the most important features that characterize a data set.  

Finally, the girls got to develop data projects of their own that involved collecting measurement data in order to compare two groups. The decided on, tried out, and refined their questions and measurement procedures; kept track of their data for both groups (Kindergarten and 4th grade); and represented their data using a line plot. Some of the data projects that they came up with were: “How many seconds does it take Kindergarteners and 4th Graders to do 20 Jumping Jacks?;” “How many inches can Kindergarteners and 4th Graders jump?;” and “How many seconds does it take for Kindergarteners and 4th Graders to draw a pizza blindfolded?” After their data was collected, the girls considered how the data provided information about their original question.