Mrs. McKegney is trying to be organized and plan for planting activities next spring. A big part of the planning revolves around the seeds she purchases for students to plant. Using the chart showing what seeds students chose to plant this year, decide which seeds should be purchased for next year's planting. In a letter to Mrs. McKegney, state your recommendation and explain your reasoning mathematically. Be sure to support your ideas with a mathematical representation, accurate math language and an organized presentation. Please comment on any additional observations you have.
Before beginning this task, students in this fourth - fifth grade class had just completed planting seeds as part of their science unit. Students chose from 14 varieties of seeds to plant. Previously, students had participated in multiple experiences with data analysis including surveys and the Exemplars task "Ms. Amico's Birthday Bash". This task assesses students' ability to read a chart, analyze data and draw conclusions based on principles of probability. Most students will determine the "most popular" seed varieties from both classes, create a graph of the seed varieties planted and make recommendations based on the most common seeds planted. Students worked on this task over several days. Science - This activity lends itself well to a study of seed germination in addition to a study of plant structure and function. Art - Students could design a garden featuring their plants or other plants that would be visually pleasing. Math - Students could measure the height of plants at regular intervals or investigate the probability of a seed germinating based on the ratio of seeds planted to the ratio of plants growing. This problem could also be made more complex by incorporating germination time. Planting seeds definitely added motivation to the task. The "real-life" connection was important to the students. A seed planting activity would be an excellent precursor to this problem. Experiences with data analysis is very helpful. The task can be easily adapted by looking at a limited number of results (one class vs. two or even 10 children from one class). The actual problem analysis took approximately one hour.
- Calculators
- Graph paper
- Worksheets (see pages 5-6)
Solutions will vary depending on the parameters set by the student - how many seed varieties, reasons for eliminating seeds. Based on the data presented here, students selected between five and nine varieties of seeds, which included Cosmos, Calendulas, Bachelor's Buttons and Dahlias.
A solution that shows an incomplete understanding or ability to solve the problem. A solution that does not address the most popular seeds or eliminates some seeds from the list of possibilities. Reasoning is not apparent in the student's solution.
A solution that attempts to summarize seed popularity, but is incomplete or incorrect in its conclusions. A solution which demonstrates some understanding of the problem, perhaps by totaling numbers of seeds planted or eliminating possible seed choices, but has a random or weak explanation of reasoning.
A Practitioner solution considers all the data (both classes) and draws conclusions based on popularity of seeds. It explains the criteria for seed variety selection. The student is able to apply fundamentals of statistical analysis and probability to predict future seed choices.
A solution that addresses multiple factors in seed selection and goes beyond analysis of general data to isolate more specialized information within the class selections (boy/girl preferences for example). Solution clearly describes criteria for seed selection.
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