Math in Science Lesson

This activity is for 3rd graders, addresses the concept of individuals having varying eye
color and what color is more common.

The skills needed or taught are:

 Collecting, Recording, and Organizing Data
 Classifying, Grouping
 Communicating, Collaborating, Discussion
 Interpreting Data
 Graphing
 Observing
 Predicting
 Estimating
 Adding, Counting, Percentage, Ratio
Materials needed:
 Colored Pencils or Crayons
 2-inch-square pieces of white paper
 Chart Paper or Graph Paper
 Glue Sticks
 Masking Tape
The lesson will begin with a question of “what is your eye color?” and “Is that color more
common?” Next, I would ask students to make predictions based on two questions. Note, it’s
important that kids establish the eye colors they think WILL be found so that they make
observations of one another’s eyes. First question, “Which eye colors are represented in our
class?” Second question, “Which eye color will we find most frequently?
Students then draw a picture of their eyes, tape them on the board to form a series of
single-file lines according to their eye color and have them note the length of each line and
compare their predictions with the results. After doing this representation we would convert it
into a bar graph. Along the bottom of a piece of chart paper, they list the eye colors found, and
glue their drawings in the appropriate columns. This would lead to a discussion of the results
compared to their predictions and challenge them to state what they have learned from the
graph or what information the graph is telling them.
Students are then to write a story problem based on the data and then share what they
came up with. Examples: Which eye color has the most? We have of kids in our room. A
# of us have eyes. How many don’t have eyes? I would also encourage students to
make a math problem out of the information given by the graph.
Now we make a more abstract version of their graph by asking: What symbol could you use
instead of your drawings? How could we convert the bar graph into a line graph? We would
mark a dot the top of each column of drawings and then connect the dots.
To broaden the thinking, I would ask students how we could collect more data on eye color,
to increase the sample size. Would it change their results? How could we find out? You could
use another class, or even use the classes in your hall or grade level. This activity will get across
the concept that increasing the sample size of any survey will give you a truer representation of
the population; a bigger picture. It might show that brown and green (hazel) are more common
(dominant) than blue eyes.