Provided by: Gulf of Maine Research Institute |Published on: August 17, 2023
Lesson Plans Grades 6-8
Synopsis
In this interactive lesson, students learn about "normal" winter conditions for a lake in Maine and learn how to analyze data to look for trends and outliers.
This lesson is the second of four lessons on this topic and it includes a worksheet, interactive questions, graphs, and audible text.
This is a great STEM resource that incorporates math and science in an interactive manner.
Students apply their critical thinking skills to think about variability and trends in observable and measurable data.
Additional Prerequisites
Students need access to devices and the Internet for this lesson.
You may want to have students expand the interactive data plot to see it more clearly.
Differentiation
Have students work in groups so they can support each other in the activities.
There is a glossary of vocabulary terms included for reference and audible text for students with learning differences.
Science classes can use this lesson to connect to many topics, including ecosystems, weather vs. climate, and the scientific method.
Teachers can connect this activity to lessons about applying math and science skills to solve problems and address important questions.
Consider having students take three temperature measurements per day for a week and then graph their data in a similar fashion. What trends do they notice? How should they group the data for analysis? How could they use the data to solve an important issue or question?
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Related Teaching Resources
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.