Integrating basic skills Essay

representing and Social Studies The principle Graphing skills are in important tool for participating in boastful society. As such, they should be emphasized and integrated into the curriculum. Including a graphing exercise as part of a larger social studies unit is a inviolable way to reinforce math and interpretive skills. A graphing exercise gives the educatee an opportunity to demonstrate what has been learned in a yeasty way. Reproducing the schooling in graphical form also helps the pupils to listen the big picture.It helps them see how different elements relate, and it provides a visual representation of the in orderion that can be more easily remembered. As adults, the students pull up stakes find that graphs are not solely a mathematical element. Graphs are a way we leave concepts as well as data. Early integration of this skill into a childs education can only be beneficial. The utilisation Software and internet sites to assist graphing activities are plentifu l. For this exercise, the Create a Graph website (http//nces. ed. gov/nces/kids/graphing/) sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics forget be used.The students reserve been studying the Plymouth Plantation. This lesson points out that the Pilgrims attained a new sense of freedom, further it was not without hardship. The graphing exercise is designed to reinforce this concept. Before the exercise begins the instructor allow for run through a brief graphing tutorial. To begin, the students leave behind from each one feel one of three different assignment sheets. They will afterward be divided into throngs based on which assignment they receive. The students in group one will receive a handout summarizing the information obtained in the part of the lesson called Step 2. Their task will be to construct a graph at the Create a Graph website comparing the speeds of unhomogeneous forms of transportation, present and past, including the Mayflower. A bar chart wil l be suggested. The students may discuss the project as a group, but each student must complete a chart. The second group will receive a handout summarizing the climatic data obtained in Step 3. They will construct a chart showing the average temperature highs and lows for each month of the year. An area chart will be suggested. The third group will receive a handout describing existence levels of colonists and natives in the area in the years 1620-1640.They will be asked to construct charts showing the population diffusion (men, women, Native Americans) in the years 1620 and 1640. Pie charts will be suggested. Copies of each graph will be printed for each student in the group. Fonts, colors and labels will be at the discretion of the students, but the students will be asked to bring through in mind that their chart must explain the data clearly to someone who might not already be familiar with it. aft(prenominal) everyone has completed a chart they will return to groups to discuss their results. The graphs in each group will not be identical, but they should be similar.Each group will then be asked an interpretive inquiry What is your graph ascertaining us? The answer should be one compose sentence. The idea is to present a very concise summary of the information, i. e. The population difference between men and women shrunk between 1620 and 1640. The teacher will bring one or two members of each croup to present their graph, describe the process of making it, and describe the meaning. To reinforce the experience, the students will be asked, as a class a series of follow up questions including the undermentioned Could we have used different types of graphs to present the data? Why or why not? Why do we use graphs? What do the graphs tell you about life on Plymouth? The graphing exercise will help students externalise the data. They can then draw their own conclusions about what the data means. They will gain exposure to the different types o f graphs and when it is appropriate to use each. It is also another(prenominal) chance to integrate interactive technology into the students learning experience. The group format will allow students to exchange ideas and develop for themselves a more creative learning experience.As with any group exercise, the job of the teacher is to assist interaction and full participation of the students. Sources Bergen County Intermediate School District. (2006). Technology political platform Integration Ideas Retrieved 7/2/2006 from http//www. remc11. k12. mi. us/bcisd/classres/intideas. htm Brooks, Susan & Byles, Bill. (2006). Idea Starters for apply Technology in the schoolroom.Retrieved 7/2/2006 from http//www. internet4classrooms. com/integ_tech_lessons. htm Evans, Janet. (2005). Literacy Moves On Popular Culture, innovative Technologies, and Critical Literacy in the Elementary Classroom.New York Heinemann. Howell, Will C. (1987). Grid and graph it graphing activities for listening and following directions, grades 4-6. Belmont, Calif. Fearon Teacher Aids. National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). Students Classroom Create a Graph. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from http//nces. ed. gov/nces/kids/graphing/ Starr, Linda. (2003). Technology Integration Ideas that Work. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from http//www. education-world. com/a_tech/tech/tech176. shtml Ventura, Fred. (2006). Graphing and Computers in Grades 3-5. Retrieved 7/2/2006 from http//www,venturaes. com/graphing/.