COMPREHENSIVE LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
Date Submitted:
June 1, 2014
Instructor Name: John Jones
Class Location: Smithville Learning Center
LESSON BASICS
Meaningful Topic:
Using graphs to analyze
spending as part of
budgeting unit.
Student Types/Group:
☒ABE ☐ESL ☒HS Equiv Prep
☒Career Aware ☒College Prep
☒SPOKES
☐Computer Lit
☐Other: Click here to enter text.
Standard(s):
M.1HS8.LER.11
describe qualitatively the functional relationship between
two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the
function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear).
Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a
function that has been described verbally.
Length of Lesson:
My Spending Story
Depth of Knowledge:
☒1. Recall and Reproduction
☒2. Skills and Concepts
☒3. Short-term Strategic
Thinking
☐4. Extended Thinking
M.AMM.FI.4
research and analyze personal budgets based on given
parameters. For example: Fixed and discretionary
expenses, insurance, gross vs. net pay, types of income
(wage, salary, commission), career choice, geographic
region, retirement and/or investment planning, etc.
M.AMM.S.4
describe strengths and weaknesses of sampling
techniques, data and graphical displays and interpretations
of summary statistics and other results appearing in a
study, including reports published in the media.
M.AMM.S.10
report results of statistical studies to a particular audience,
including selecting an appropriate presentation format,
creating graphical data displays and interpreting results in
terms of the question studied.
Essential Question:
How can graphs help reveal a person’s spending story?
How can graphs help me draw conclusions and make recommendations for the future?
Objective(s):
Use graphs to visually represent data.
Determine which type of graph will best display the information.
Interpret graphs to tell a story about the data.
Determine what data is needed to tell the rest of the story.
Make recommendations about spending after analyzing spending habits.
Required Materials/Equipment/Technology/Community Resources:
SmartBoard or projector, ipads or cell phones, computers with Microsoft Excel,
responders
Prior Knowledge/
Connections:
Students will complete
budgeting lesson before
this lesson.
Students will have learned
how to and practiced
entering information into a
Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet in a previous
class.
Required Vocabulary:
inference
conclusion
causation
correlation
bar graph
pie chart/circle graph
line graph
scatter plot
trend
percentage
cell
formula
range
domain
axis
legend
Instructional Methods:
☒Large Group
☒Small Group
☒Cooperative Learning
☒Project-based
☒Independent Study
☐Computer-assisted
☐One-on-One Tutorial
☐Individualized
☐Guest Speaker
☐Field Trip
☐Other: Click here to enter
text.
ACTIVITY PLAN
1. Warm-up/Review/Connections:
Students will be shown a table tracking a person’s spending over time and asked to
work in small groups to write several observations and inferences about the spending
table. They will then be encouraged to write a story that answers the question “What
story do these numbers tell?” Additional data will be revealed and the students will be
asked to add to the story. The students will be asked to draw a picture to go with their
stories and to present it to the class. We will then discuss the inferences that were
drawn from the data and the pictures that were created. We will discuss the fact that
another type of visual representation that could be used to tell a spending story is a
graph.
2. Introduction to Content/Explanation:
Students will be shown examples of graphs about spending and budgets. They will be
asked to match the type of graph with the type of data that is being displayed and the
story that is being told. For example, a line graph showing a person’s spending on gas
over twelve months, a pie graph showing a person’s spending on various categories
over one month, and a bar graph showing a person’s spending on various categories
over a three-month period will be displayed. Students will be asked to summarize the
best use for each type of graph on a note-taking sheet. Students will then be told that
we are going to learn how to create each type of graph so that they will be able to tell a
visual story about their own spending after collecting data during the week.
3. Presentation/Model the Learning Process:
A. Instructor will show students how to create a pie graph by hand using a pie graph
template; students who prefer to follow written instructions or watch a video about
how to create a pie chart by hand will work in an adjacent area.
B. Instructor will then show students how to create a pie graph in Microsoft Excel using
a spreadsheet that has been created for them; students who prefer to follow written
instructions or watch a video about how to create a pie chart in Excel will work in an
adjacent area.
C. Instructor will show students how to create a line graph in Microsoft Excel using a
spreadsheet that has been created for them; students who prefer to follow written
instructions or watch a video about how to create a pie chart in Excel will work in an
adjacent area.
D. Instructor will show students how to create a bar graph in Microsoft Excel using a
spreadsheet that has been created for them; students who prefer to follow written
instructions or watch a video about how to create a pie chart in Excel will work in an
adjacent area.
4. Scaffolded/Guided Concrete Practice:
A. Students will follow step-by-step instructions that are available in both written and
video formats to create a pie graph on a pie graph template using data that has
been given to them.
B. Students will follow step-by-step instructions that are available in both written and
video formats to create a pie graph in Microsoft Excel using a spreadsheet that has
been created for them.
C. Students will follow step-by-step instructions that are available in both written and
video formats to create a line graph in Microsoft Excel using a spreadsheet that has
been created for them.
D. Students will follow step-by-step instructions that are available in both written and
video formats to create a bar graph in Microsoft Excel using a spreadsheet that has
been created for them.
E. Students will give one another feedback about their four graphs and the instructor
will circulate to give elaborated feedback about the graphs.
F. Students will be asked to write three possible conclusions that could be drawn
based on the data.
G. The class will come together to discuss conclusions that could be drawn from the
graphs.
5. Communicative/Collaborative Concrete Practice and Grouping Strategies:
Students will then get into groups of two or three financial analysts. Each group will be
given a bio and a collection of spending data in spreadsheet form on a flash drive.
Each group is asked to create several graphs based on the data and write three
conclusions about the data based on the graphs and three suggestions that they would
give to a client after analyzing this data. Suggestions can range from types of data to
collect in the future to ways to reduce spending in specific areas.
6. Independent Concrete Practice/Application:
Students will be asked to track their own spending for one week and analyze their own
spending data. They will be shown a free app that is available for download called
iSpend and given the option of using it if they have a smartphone or tablet.
Students will then be asked to write a narrative about what the data reveals, using at
least one graph to support the conclusions. Students will be asked to identify what
additional information they need to collect in the future to get the whole story and to
identify three changes that they would like to implement based on the current spending
story. Students will be given the following choices about how to present their findings:
present to the class, create a poster, create a PowerPoint presentation, or create a
video.
7. Assessment:
Instructor will look at graphs created by individuals during the scaffolded practice and
by the groups during the collaborative practice. Students will be given a rubric to
evaluate their own final project.
8. Wrap-up/Concluding Activity:
Students will be given responders and asked to evaluate the following statements:
1 = Strongly Disagree 2 = Disagree
3 = Agree
4 = Strongly Agree
I can provide examples of when pie, bar and line graphs can help make data easier to
understand.
I can create each of the three types of graphs on my own.
I can analyze data and draw conclusions about data using graphs.
I can analyze my own spending habits and make decisions about future spending.
Students will also be given an opportunity to fill out a +, delta, + card about the activity
to give the instructor feedback.
9. Instructor Reflection:
What went well? Students were well connected to the topic after the previous lesson
on spending habits got them warmed up. They were very open to learning. They
were not afraid of the graphs or of data in general.
What did not go as planned? I ran out of time because the previous lesson and my
lesson were both longer than I thought they would be. It was good that the students
were engaged. I just need to budget more time for these two lessons in the future.
What should change? Provide more time.
What should be addressed in future lessons? I would like to do a reading lesson that
includes reading a study about the factors that help people be financially successful
and factors that can impede financial success. I would like to do a career
exploration lesson in which students research a career pathway and create a
presentation about a job in that career pathway and the budget that they would
implement if they had that job. I would also like to do a writing lesson in which
students write a narrative essay about their spending story (past, present, and
future).