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The 2002 Winter Olympic games are here! To access the entire schedule of events, go to Olympic Games Website and click on Salt Lake 2002. Here, you can follow the day-by day results, and see images of the highlights. Click on the heading "Schedules" for a complete calendar of daily events.
The Olympic games are always a captivating topic for people of all ages. It also provides an intriguing challenge for data collection and examination. Which country collects the most medals? How many gold medals can we capture, and how are winnings determined? What percentages of medals will the US win? Many questions can be examined through this exercise on data collection. Our Integration Idea for January will focus on these exciting results, and inspire kids to chart the progress of countries as they collect their medals each day.
This project has three distinct phases. In phase one, Gathering Data, you and your students will use a data collection tool (a worksheet to keep track of medal winners during February 8 - 24. In phase two, Creating Charts, students will transfer their data into an Excel worksheet. Phase three is up to you. Try some of the filtering functions described in this month's Tech Tip, or make up your own. We've included a list of extension activities and project ideas for you to follow for this project or for another data project after the Olympics are over.
Curriculum Area: Math
Grade Level: 4-6
Skills Developed: Organizing data collection by creating a spreadsheet and
graph using Excel
Student Grouping: Individual or pairs
Time: Approximately two weeks (length of Olympic Games)
Technology Used: Microsoft Excel, Internet
We have created a teacher handout which provides full instructions for each step in this curriculum activity.
Procedure:
1. Collecting Data - Students will collect the Olympic medals data from Feb. 8 — Feb. 24 on the data collection worksheet.
2. Create an Excel Chart - Students will follow the included directions to create a chart of their data using Microsoft Excel.
3. Interpret Their Results — Students will discuss their rankings with the class, as described in Section 3 of the handout.
4. Extensions — Students may use their new skills in other suggested activities.
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Last updated, January 30,2002