Get to Know You Data Visualization (based on Dear Data)

In this activity, students use data visualization methods presented in Dear Data: A Friendship in 52 Weeks of Postcards to introduce themselves at the beginning of the school year. Dear Data details a pen-pal data sharing project between two friends (Thriftbooks link). This activity will engage students with data in a fun and individualized way, strengthen data literacy skills, and if done early in the school year, build interpersonal relationships.

  • Objective
    •  Students create a visual representation of data they collect about themselves over a set period of time.   
  • Grades: 6, 7, 8 - adaptable to 9 thru 12
  • Time: 2 class periods, data collection time frame flexible
  • Author: Dean Holbrook

Arizona Standards Engaged

Science & Engineering Practices        
Ask questions and define problems - Develop and use models - Plan and carry out investigations - Analyze and interpret data - Use mathematics and computational thinking - Construct explanations and design solutions - Engage in argument from evidence - Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information 
    
Math Practices
Reason abstractly and quantitatively - Real world statistical information gathering - Data expression

Image of shoe with colors representing data

Student Instructions

Image of clock graph

Gallery Walk Student Worksheet

Numerous small postcards of data from Dear Data project

Dear Data Resources

Dear Data Website: https://www.dear-data.com/theproject


Dear Data Video Introduction (3 minutes): Big Bang Data: Dear Data