Excel Lesson Plan

 

Name:  Leah Coutorie

 

Title of lesson:  Intro to Excel

 

Date of lesson:  Unknown (written 2-28-05)

 

Length of lesson:  2 one-hour periods

 

Description of the class: 

                     Name of course:  Algebra II

                     Grade level:  10th – 12th grades

                     Honors or regular:  regular

 

Source of the lesson:

            Microsoft Excel.

 

TEKS addressed:

            ¤111.32. Algebra I (One Credit).

(a) Basic understandings.

(1) Foundation concepts for high school mathematics. As presented in Grades K-8, the basic understandings of number, operation, and quantitative reasoning; patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking; geometry; measurement; and probability and statistics are essential foundations for all work in high school mathematics. Students will continue to build on this foundation as they expand their understanding through other mathematical experiences.

(5) Tools for algebraic thinking. Techniques for working with functions and equations are essential in understanding underlying relationships. Students use a variety of representations (concrete, numerical, algorithmic, graphical), tools, and technology, including, but not limited to, powerful and accessible hand-held calculators and computers with graphing capabilities and model mathematical situations to solve meaningful problems.

(6) Underlying mathematical processes. Many processes underlie all content areas in mathematics. As they do mathematics, students continually use problem-solving, computation in problem-solving contexts, language and communication, connections within and outside mathematics, and reasoning, as well as multiple representations, applications and modeling, and justification and proof.

b) Foundations for functions: knowledge and skills and performance descriptions.

(1) The student understands that a function represents a dependence of one quantity on another and can be described in a variety of ways. Following are performance descriptions.

(A) The student describes independent and dependent quantities in functional relationships.

(B) The student gathers and records data, or uses data sets, to determine functional (systematic) relationships between quantities.

(C) The student describes functional relationships for given problem situations and writes equations or inequalities to answer questions arising from the situations.

(D) The student represents relationships among quantities using concrete models, tables, graphs, diagrams, verbal descriptions, equations, and inequalities.

(E) The student interprets and makes inferences from functional relationships.

¤111.33. Algebra II (One-Half to One Credit).

(a) Basic understandings.

(1) Foundation concepts for high school mathematics. As presented in Grades K-8, the basic understandings of number, operation, and quantitative reasoning; patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking; geometry; measurement; and probability and statistics are essential foundations for all work in high school mathematics. Students continue to build on this foundation as they expand their understanding through other mathematical experiences.

(5) Tools for algebraic thinking. Techniques for working with functions and equations are essential in understanding underlying relationships. Students use a variety of representations (concrete, numerical, algorithmic, graphical), tools, and technology, including, but not limited to, powerful and accessible hand-held calculators and computers with graphing capabilities and model mathematical situations to solve meaningful problems.

(6) Underlying mathematical processes. Many processes underlie all content areas in mathematics. As they do mathematics, students continually use problem-solving, computation in problem-solving contexts, language and communication, connections within and outside mathematics, and reasoning, as well as multiple representations, applications and modeling, and justification and proof.

(b) Foundations for functions: knowledge and skills and performance descriptions.

(1) The student uses properties and attributes of functions and applies functions to problem situations. Following are performance descriptions.

B) In solving problems, the student collects data and records results, organizes the data, makes scatterplots, fits the curves to the appropriate parent function, interprets the results, and proceeds to model, predict, and make decisions and critical judgments.

 

I.  Overview

The goal of this lesson is for students to learn how to utilize Microsoft Excel.  They will learn to enter, graph, and analyze data.  They will use functions in Excel to manipulate their data in order to learn everything they can from it.  It is important for the students to be able to see their data in lists and then in a graphic form so to make connections between them.

 

II. Performance or learner outcomes

            Students will be able to:

                        Enter, graph, and analyze data in Excel

                        Answer questions about the processes

                        Answer questions about the significance of their data

   

III. Resources, materials and supplies needed

             One computer per student

 

IV. Supplementary materials, handouts.

             Notes about Excel Handout       

             Data Handout

 

Five-E Organization

Teacher Does                    Probing Questions                                Student Does      

Engage:

I would have 5 volunteers come up to have a competition.  I would have them throw a ball into a bucket three trials of three times each to test if they get better with each throw.  I would list in a very drawn out and awkward way whether or not they make it each time.

      

 

1.  What can we learn from this experiment?

2.  What is all this information I wrote down called?

3.  How could we re-write this information so that we could better interpret it?

4.  How could we label the table?

5.  Does anyone know how we could do this on the computer?

 

 

     

1.  If their aim improves; if someone is accurate more of the time than someone else.

2.  data

3.  a table with rows and columns. 

4.  rows as names and columns as trials; vice versa.

5.  make a table in Word; enter it in Excel.

                                                   

Explore:

I would instruct them to make a table that displays the data I wrote on the board (or overhead, whatever is available) and tell them to make it however they want, which ever format, and either some way on a computer or on paper.  I would have them do this in groups of three.

 

 

 

1.  What is the most efficient way to enter the data?

2.  Whose is the best?

3.  How could we graph this data?

 

     

1.  Students names down the side, trials across the top, the number of ÒbasketsÓ they made for each trial in the cellsÉanswers will vary

2.  [something along the lines of answer to #1]Éanswers will vary

3.  Students as x-axis, ÒbasketsÓ as y-axis, a line graph, and bar graph, a pie chart for eachÉ

    

Explain:

At this time I would have a volunteer come up and enter the data on my projected computer.  I would then take any questions and/or comments about how this was done.  Now IÕd pass out a short explanation of how to use functions and graphing in Excel specific to that they would be using for this project.  Then I would show them how to graph this data and how to add up their total ÒbasketsÓ using functions in Excel and then graph that.  They could follow along with the notes IÕve handed out.

 

 

 

1.  Can someone explain to me how so-and-so created this table? 

2.  What does this number represent (pointing)?  And this number?  How many baskets did person A make on trial 2?  Any questions?

3.  Which of these graphs displays the data more efficiently?  Line graph, bar graph?  Why?

1.  He/she put names here and trials there and the number of baskets made in the cells.

2.  Answer questions about how to read the table accordingly.

3.  The line graph is better because it drops when they donÕt do as well and rises when they do.  The bar graph is better because itÕs easier to look at.

                                               

Extend / Elaborate:

At this time, after taking any last questions and comments, I would hand out a list of data similar to that of which they will be taking when they do their own experiments launching their catapults.  I will have them enter and graph do they have to create a line graph or can they play around and experiment with the different types of graphs?  the data and make observations about it.  They will do this in groups of three.

 

      

 

1.  Given a list of data, enter it in Excel and make a line graph out of the data.

 2.  According to the data, which flies further, the lighter or heavier water balloon?  What makes you think that?

3.  What can you see just by looking at the graph?

1.  Do assignment respectively.

2.  [Their data will show different things so not to answer this question before they actually do the experiment.]  The heavier balloon travels further because there is more data where the heavier balloon travels further; and vice versa; and inconclusive because they change which one travels further; no effects because they travel relatively the same distance.

3.  Basically the same answer as to #2.

   

  Evaluate:

At this time I would have my own data entered and graphed and pull it up on the projected computer.  I would have the class analyze and hypothesize about my data how exactly? Maybe ask the students to turn to a person next to you and discuss for 3 minutes what you think will happen and write a hypothesis and findings. I would then point out how helpful graphs are in analyzing data.

 

 

      

 

1. According to my data, which travels further?

2.  How can you tell?

3.  [Flash the data for 3 seconds]  Which travels further?  [Flash the graph for three seconds]  Which travels further?  Which time could you better answer the question?

4.  Briefly explain what we learned today.

 

1.  the lighter one, heavier one, neither, canÕt tellÉwhichever I decide to display.

2.  It has a further distance most of the time, all the timeÉwhichever

3.  When we looked at the graph.

4.  how to enter data in Excel, how to graph in Excel, how to sum in Excel, that graphs are important.

 

Percent effort each team member contributed to this lesson plan:

100%___       ____Name of group member:  Leah Coutorie