Teaching Box As Well As Whisker Plots

Image: ruthmaas.com

When I wrote Long Live Stem as well as Leaf, I'd been challenged to detect a practical application of stalk as well as foliage diagrams exterior the maths classroom. After extensive googling - as well as helpful input from twitter - the exclusively examples I could detect were motorcoach as well as prepare timetables. But I argued that existent life application isn't the hold upward all as well as goal all.

Stem as well as foliage diagrams were invented inwards the 1970s yesteryear Consistent Mathematics if y'all desire to know why). This is a lovely action inwards a lesson introducing the thought of median, exactly non thus effective inwards a box plot lesson. Because fifty-fifty though y'all tin role a bedsheet as well as string to larn the students to expect similar a box plot, if they’re non appropriately spaced out (ie if there’s no scale) as well as thus it’s non a box plot. If y'all desire a proper box plot you’ll bring to truly mensurate the heights as well as depict a scale on the floor.

An option thought (inspired yesteryear this post) involves newspaper aeroplanes. You’ll quest a large infinite for this - the schoolhouse hall or playground. Tape (or depict inwards chalk) a long scale on the floor. Have each of your pupils brand a newspaper aeroplane, write their cite on it, as well as throw it from the outset of the scale. Leave the aeroplanes where they land. Once all pupils bring thrown their aeroplane, y'all tin depict or record a box plot on the flooring approximately the planes to correspond the distance flown. Pupils volition hold upward able to run across which quartile their plane landed in. Hopefully 1 hereafter engineer volition throw an amazing outlier which volition brand a skillful tidings point! You could fifty-fifty dissever the degree inwards one-half as well as do 2 box plots on the flooring side yesteryear side, as well as thus the degree could verbalise over which squad had amend aeroplanes as well as which team’s planes were to a greater extent than consistent.

If y'all similar practical activities, here’s 2 more:

• This uncomplicated newspaper folding action is a overnice introduction to median as well as quartiles.

Source: bigideasmath.com

• This Cheerios activity explores mean, median, fashion as well as box plots.

Resources
There’s surprisingly few skillful box plot resources online. But Don Steward never lets us down. His website has a reveal of box plot activities - my favourite is this truthful or fake activity.

I also similar the action below from bigideasmath.com:

If you’re looking to generate box plots on your interactive whiteboard for degree discussion, this online tool is overnice – it has pre-populated information or y'all tin input your own.

I've listed some to a greater extent than skillful box plot resources below. I’ve constitute that many resources enquire questions almost skewness, which nosotros don’t encompass until S1 (but perchance nosotros should encompass earlier). Treatment of outliers is also non covered at GCSE exactly makes for a overnice discussion.

• Standards unit of measurement activities S5 as well as S6, which tin hold upward constitute on Mr Barton’s website. 
• Illustrative Mathematics has loads of first-class statistics questions, similar Haircut Costs as well as Speed Trap.
• Interpreting Box Plots Treasure Hunt from numberloving.co.uk.
• Representing Data Using Box Plots from Mathematics Assessment Project (activities at the back)
• Lots of exercises from CIMT inwards this chapter – I especially similar the comparing questions on the final few pages 
• Using NBA Statistics for Box as well as Whisker Plots from NCTM 
• The variability exercise (starting on page 8) inwards this lesson plan could hold upward helpful when educational activity the concept of spread. 
• My Describing Box Plots action on TES helps pupils practice reading as well as drawing box plots as well as emphasises the role of the right vocabulary.
• My Party Box Plots action on TES helps pupils empathise the concept of spread.

If y'all desire to exhibit your degree some ‘real world’ box plots as well as thus these box plots showing the ages of World Cup players could prompt some skillful discussions almost comparisons. Read @loumeracy’s blog post for to a greater extent than on this.

If y'all desire to ‘wow’ your degree amongst an instance of how box plots tin hold upward used to compare huge amounts of information inwards a pocket-size space, exhibit them this example which shows the historic menses distribution of Olympics athletes (more of this here).

Final thoughts
In French the box plot is called boîte à moustaches (box amongst a moustache). The author of this article attempts to create a box as well as beard plot!

There are many variations to the box as well as whisker plot, such every bit the edible bean plot as well as violin plot. Look these upward on google images for lots of examples.

I read an interesting thought here that I’d never thought of before: “One agency to assistance y'all translate box plots is to imagine that the agency a information gear upward looks every bit a histogram is something similar a mount viewed from the world plane as well as a box as well as whisker diagram is something similar a contour map of that mount every bit viewed from above”.

Well, at that topographic point y'all are – a 'box plot weblog post'. Try maxim that 5 times out loud. I've invented a novel natural language twister.

5 Maths Gems #1

I’m fairly novel to Twitter. My absence over the final few years agency I’ve missed out on thousands of fantabulous didactics ideas. Twitter is a source of endless inspiration. So I cause got a plan. I’m going to write a weekly post highlighting 5 swell novel ideas I’ve gleaned from Twitter. These posts volition aid me retrieve things. And hopefully my readers volition do goodness too.

Today I’ve exceeded my trammel in addition to am presenting a listing of 6 ideas from my calendar week on Twitter (not a practiced start! I’ll aim for 5 adjacent week).

1. Practical ideas from Maryse. It sounds similar Maryse (@AllThingsMaths) has done an amazing labor transforming mathematics didactics inward her schoolhouse in addition to enthusing her students alongside tonnes of creative ideas. Here’s a alternative of those she’s shared this week:

• Play grab alongside eggs in addition to function out the relative frequency of smashing.
• Get an onetime tyre, pigment it in addition to whorl it to demonstrate circumference. 
• Have a seat out business painted inward the playground.
• Have discussions most going dorsum inward fourth dimension in addition to Doctor Who alongside go graphs. 

I dearest these ideas. Follow @AllThingsMaths for lots more.

Mistake Game, Colin Beveridge (My Favorite Liar’. You must read this! It prompted a give-and-take on Twitter most whether the thought would function inward maths. I think it would. In your start lesson alongside a novel class, say them that you'll say 1 prevarication per lesson. Your pupils cause got to position your lies. In the give-and-take on Twitter nosotros came upwards alongside a practiced listing of lies in addition to misconceptions, such every bit 'multiplication makes numbers bigger', 'if a seat out has 6 zeros so it's inward the millions' in addition to 'one is a prime number'. The thought is that y'all sideslip these lies into your didactics in addition to promise that your pupils volition right away challenge you. And if no-one challenges y'all so it volition brand a overnice plenary discussion. Mr Allan (@mrallanmaths) is going to endeavor it out - I’m actually looking frontward to hearing how effective it is. I think, similar the error game, it volition last incredibly engaging.

3. Box plots party. In reply to my post most teaching box plots, Pete Sides of the South Yorkshire Maths Hub (@SYMathsHub) suggested a lovely action inward which pupils speak over the ages of guests at unlike types of party, to aid them sympathise the concept of spread. For representative y'all could inquire them to line a box plot representing the ages of guests at an 18th birthday party, a wedding, a child’s political party etc. I similar this thought so I turned it into a worksheet in addition to added it to my weblog post.

Trigonometry triangles are similar. I’ve never given much thought to the fact that my students are missing an chance to practise rearranging formulae. I sympathise the argue for mixed views on these methods, but I do rather similar the triangle shared yesteryear Malc Henderson (@malc_henderson) for solving opposite percent problems. It’s overnice to cause got a make of tools to back upwards students when they’re preparing for their GCSEs.

6. Display ideas. Clarissa Grandi (@c0mplexnumber) posted a pic of her novel ‘vwllss’ corridor display (inspiration from @El_Timbre). It looks fantastic - what a practiced idea!

Other practiced display ideas I’ve seen lately include circle formulae yesteryear Dawn (@mrsdenyer), a foursquare beginning clock yesteryear Duncan Smart (@duncsmart), in addition to an interactive seat out puzzle for a maths corridor or classroom, shared yesteryear Mr C Ward (@MrWardMaths).

There y'all go, vi maths gems from @mathsjem (my initials are JEM yesteryear the way, it’s non a spelling mistake!). This is merely a pocket-size alternative of the practiced ideas I’ve seen on Twitter this week. More to come upwards adjacent week!

I’m working on a few posts at the moment, including 1 on introducing algebra in addition to 1 on introducing differentiation – if y'all cause got whatever swell ideas so delight electronic mail resourceaholic@gmail.com or tweet me.

Image sources: lightbulb tampawebdesigner.net; birds techwyse.com