Problem Solving Using Presidential Data

By Nikki Zvonek
7 grade Mathematics
th

Common Core Standards:

Ohio Department of Education
Read, create and use line graphs, histograms, circle graphs, box-and-whisker plots, stem-and-leaf
plots, and other representations when appropriate.
Interpret data by looking for patterns and relationships, draw and justify conclusions, and answer
related questions.
Determine and use the range, mean, median and mode to analyze and compare data, and explain
what each indicates about the data.
Ohio Learning Standards- Ohios New Learning Standards- Mathematics, Page 42
Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models.
Lesson Summary:
This lesson is designed to integrate social studies and mathematics together in an activity. The
lesson is focused on the average age of the president at his inauguration and highlighted the
Common Core State Standard for Mathematics (CCSSM) content area of statistics and probability
(CCSS1 2010). A refresher class will be provided to the student at the start of the week and following
that class, students will be asked to research presidential data. Following the research a review of
mode, mean, and median will be reviewed preparing students to think like a mathematician while
analyzing historical data.
Estimated Duration:
Five 50 minute class periods
Commentary:
To begin this lesson I will show a YouTube video 44 Facts About the U.S. Presidents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiIee4iaqAQ in order to get the class excited about the idea of
studying the U.S. Presidents. At the conclusion of the video I will ask the class which facts they
found most interesting and if they know of any other interesting presidential facts. His activity will
transition into the lesson on data analysis and probability.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
First 10 minutes: I will begin the class by showing the video 44 Facts About the U.S. Presidents
20 minutes: I will discuss the video and ask the class which facts they found most interesting, if they
have a favorite U.S. President, and if they know of any other interesting presidential facts.
20 minutes: I will break the class up into groups of 3 to 4 and assign each group a couple of U.S.
Presidents to research on the internet before the next class.
Day 2:
First 40 minutes: Each of the groups I assigned the previous day will be asked to briefly (2-3
minutes) present the information that they found during their internet search to the class.
10 minutes: I will engage the class in a discussion about the information presented and what facts
they found the most interesting.
Day 3:
First 30 minutes: I will present a review lecture of the terms mode, mean, and median. Additionally, I
will give and in-class review and let the students work together on the assignment.
15 minutes: I will assign each student in the group a role of either scribe (records discussions),
spokesperson (speaks for the group), materials manager (distributes and collects materials), and
runner (permitted to get out of seat and interact with the class. By assigning roles, hopefully conflicts
within the groups will be minimized.
5 minutes: The class will be wrapped up and I will discuss the briefly tomorrows lesson plans.
Day 4:
First 10 minutes: Have students work in their group and make guesses about the age the president
at the time of their inauguration.
15 minutes: I will provide the students with a data sheet listing the date of birth, death, and the date
of each presidents inauguration. The students will then be asked to determine the age of the
presidents when they were inaugurated.
20 minutes: Together as a class we will go over the results and determine which of the presidents
was the oldest at the time of inauguration (Ronald Reagan) and the youngest (Theodore Roosevelt).
5 minutes: The class will be wrapped up and I will discuss tomorrow lesson plans.

Day 5 :

First 15 minutes: I will draw the framing for a stem and leaf diagram on the white board at the font
of the classroom. I will then ask the students to calculate the leaves to add to this diagram. For
example, Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was inaugurated, therefore the students determine that a
9 should be placed on the 60 stem of the diagram.
10 minutes: One at a time, the runner from each group will be asked to come up to the white board
and add their leaves to the diagram.
25 minutes: After the chart is complete, the students will be encourages to discuss the patterns that
they see as well as common trends. Once the discussion has ceased, I will ask the students to
calculate the median, mode, and mean of the data collected.

Pre-Assessment:
Prior to starting the data analysis project, I will present a review lecture of the terms mode, mean,
and median. Additionally, I will give and in-class review worksheet and let the students work together
on the assignment. By completing the review worksheet, I can assess the comprehension of the
concepts of median, mode, and mean.
Scoring Guidelines:
The pre-assessment will be scored by the teacher judging whether the students comprehend the
concepts of median, mode, and mean.
During the time that the groups are working to determine the age of the presidents when they were
inaugurated the teacher will visit the groups and assess the students comprehension. Additionally,
at the end of the lesson (on day 5) the students will hand in their work showing how they calculated
median, mode, and mean. The teacher will review this work to further evaluate if the student
understand the concepts being presented.
Post-Assessment:
The work handed in at the end of the lesson will help the teacher to evaluate whether the students
understand the concepts being presented. Additionally, a short quiz will be given the following week
addressing the topics of median, mode, and mean.
Scoring Guidelines:
Students scoring higher than 80% on the follow-up quiz will be considered as understanding or
mastering the concepts, and students scoring lower than 80% will be given additional instruction in
the form of one-on-on tutoring or if the entire class performs poorly additional instruction.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Students struggling with the material can be supported and tutored during the activities by their
peers. After completion of the activity, if the student is still struggling, one-on-one individual tutoring
between the student and teacher should take place.
Students who have a clear understanding of the subject matter can further knowledge by further
looking at the information in more detail. For example, in addition to the presidents age the students
may also look at and evaluate the political party that the president belonged to and determine the
party trends in the United States.

Extension
If the students want to learn more about the subject matter or need additional help understanding
the subject matter, the teacher could encourage them the view the Khan Academy video Average or
Central Tendency: Arithmetic Mean, Median, and Mode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrynkZB3E7M
If they are still curious about the topic, there are additional Khan Aced my videos such as Statistics:
The average- Descriptive statistics- Probability and Statistics or Sampling distribution of the sample
mean- Probability and Statistics which dive into more complex issues surrounding the subject
matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxtUt_-GyM&list=PLAEE68AB24BD0F23A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXZ2O1Lv-KE&list=PLAEE68AB24BD0F23A&index=4

Interdisciplinary Connections
During this lesson the students will be about United States history and social studies in addition to
the mathematics they are being taught.
They students will also be learning about technology since their research was supposed to be
performed on the internet.
Additionally, the work requires the students to collaborate their efforts which in itself is a good lesson
about working together.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers
For students

White board, internet access, worksheet handouts

Internet capable computer

Key Vocabulary
Median, mode, mean