Aleksander B., Nysha J., Ajit S., Keisha M.
Date: November 18, 2008
Subject: Math,
Strand: Data Management
Topic: Teaching Social Justice Through Mathematics Distribution of food around the world
Associate Teacher: Dianne Mangan
School: Kingsview Community School
CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS:
Grade: 3
Time: 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Overall (Math): Collect and organize categorical or discrete primary data and display the data using charts and graphs,
including vertical and horizontal bar graphs, with labels ordered appropriately along horizontal axes, as needed.
Specific (Math) : -collect data by conducting a simple survey about themselves, their environment, issues in their school
or community, or content from another subject;
Interpret and draw conclusions from data presented in charts, tables, and graphs.
Specific (Social Studies) : Compare the characteristics of their community to those of a different community (e.g., with
respect to population density, availability of resources such as food
Specific (Language Arts): 1.6 Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge and
experience, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them
OBJECTIVES:
Conceptual Focus: (Will know or understand)
 Students will learn about different ways to collect, display and use data (tally charts, bar graphs and pictographs).
 Students will have a visual and experiential example of the unequal distribution of the world’s food and wealth
 Students will discuss amongst themselves the concepts of fairness and justice.
 Students will use appropriate vocabulary to communicate their interpretation of the data i.e. people in the richer
countries have a greater amount of food than people in poor countries.
 Students will work in groups to complete the task.
Procedural Focus: (Will do: skills, processes)
 Demonstrate prior knowledge by collecting and recording data using three methods.
 Students will be divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (High income group) will have 2 students, group 2 (Middle income
group) will have 5 students and group3 (Low income group) will have 7 students in order to illustrate the unequal
distribution of food and wealth throughout the world.
 Distinguish between wealth and poverty and the effects of the two conditions
ASSESSMENT:
Type: Diagnostic/FORMATIVE/Summative
Students will be assessed on their ability to implement prior knowledge on creating and interpreting data for bar and
pictographs, tally charts and use the correct language to communicate findings.
Strategies: (What students will do to demonstrate learning)
 Students will respond correctly to questions concerning tally charts and the sample question i.e. what does the tally
chart tell us “The tally chart tells us that the group with the least people have the most food and the groups with the
most people have less food.”
Tools and criteria: (How teacher will record assessment data: checklist, anecdotal comments, rubric, rating scale,
numerical score)
 Anecdotal comments
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
 4 pieces of chart paper, markers, pencils, tally chart worksheets, 5 paper bags, pictures of foods, tape for x and y axis
on carpet.
ADAPTATIONS/ACCOMMODATIONS:
Students who have IEP’s, with particular attention on challenges in math and behavioural management (emotive
regulation), will receive increased teacher guidance and/or be grouped with stronger students. There will be a focus on
interactive learning in order to support bodily-kinesthetic learners i.e. life-size graph.
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Aleksander B., Nysha J., Ajit S., Keisha M.
STAGE
TIME
DESCRIPTION
Engage/
Elicit
10 min.
Explore
20 min.
Explain
20 min.
BEGINNING OF LESSON: Ms. Morgan will introduce all the teachers and then tell students that
today we will be doing an exciting lesson. We are going to use all of our prior knowledge
about data management and graphs to understand how food is distributed throughout the
world. What does that word mean anyways “Distribution”? Throughout this activity we
want you to think about the terms Fairness and justice. You will be divided into three groups.
Each group will have a different amount of people. These groups will represent the different
groupings of countries around the world. Ms. Johnson will explain that the three groups
represent the rich, medium and poor countries and provide a description of each group (Below).
After each group’s description, the groups will receive their share of food. Ms Singh will explain
that this represents the amount of food that each group gets. Remind the students that this is a
small scale representation of food distribution. Allow the participants to share only if they choose.
The high-income countries will have the fewest people in the group, but the most “food”; the
low-income countries will have the most people and the least amount of “food”.
BODY OF LESSON
Each group will be given 1 tally chart on which they must complete a tally of all food items in
their paper bags. They will also be given a pre-prepared bar graph on chart paper on which they
must transfer the data from the tally charts and label the graph correctly. Teachers will circulate
the classroom to provide assistance. We will alert students 5 minutes before transitions. Groups
such as the high income group can tally their food in terms of meats, grains and liquids to make
the process less time consuming and tell use larger scales such as 5 or 10. Students will come
back to group and we will have a prepared tally chart to display the groups HI, MI and LI, number
of people in each group, tally of pieces of food i.e. HI group has 97 pieces and 2 people, MI has 12
pieces and 5 people. Students can visually see the negative correlation between numbers of
people in a group vs. amount of food per group.
LESSON CLOSURE:
Students from each group will work together to complete a life size pictograph on the carpet using
the food pieces from their paper bags. There will be three categories High Income, Middle
Income and low Income in order to visually represent the unequal distribution. The High income
group’s data will possibly lead into the hallway. Group members from other groups can help
display he High income data to save time. Mr. Borucki will lead a closing discussion asking
questions below.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:
Questioning, cues, and Advance Organizers
 What do we know from looking at the graph?
 How many people are there in each group?
 How much food does each group have?
Homework and Practice
 Complete tally charts and graphs independently.
 Journal response: What do you think about some people having so much while others have so little? What do you
think we can do about it? How do you think the world should be?
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Aleksander B., Nysha J., Ajit S., Keisha M.
Nysha
High Income
Number of Participants: 2 individuals
Description of Group: This group represents about one in six people. It includes countries like Canada, United States,
and Japan. Most people make enough money to live comfortably. Most children have safe water and good doctors, many
people get more to eat than they need and live to be about 76 years old.
Pieces of “Food”: approximately 50 per individual in this group
Middle Income
Number of Participants: 5 individuals
Description of Group: One in four people are in this group. It includes countries like Poland, Thailand, and the
Philippines. Many people do not get enough to eat and five times more children die in this group than the first group.
Pieces of “Food”: 12
Low Income
Number of Participants: 8 individuals
Description of Group: More than half the people in the world live here, in countries like Haiti, Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
People earn less than $2 a day, and most people go hungry every day. The drinking water often makes people sick, and
some people even die from drinking it. The average person only lives to be about 60 years old.
Pieces of “Food”: 1 for every three people.
Aleksander:
1. For Group 1: How does it feel to have so much food, especially when others don’t?
2. For Group 3: How do you feel about the people in the wealthy group? What would you want them to do?
3. Is this distribution fair? Why or Why not? What would make it fair?
4. If you lived in the poorest group, what are some other things you may not have besides
food? Flush toilets telephones electricity television Toys schooling running water hospitals Doctors nearby toothbrush drinkable
water nice clothes Hot shower police protection cars air conditioning
5. Why do a few people have so much food and many people have so little? What causes hunger? This is list of
some causes of hunger, although there are many more.

Not enough good job unequal distribution of wealth little education

Overpopulation not enough health care poor nutrition

Poor country debt unequal access to resources racism

War corrupt governments disasters

Famine greed lack of justice

Not enough clean drinking water
Journal response: Ms. Morgan assigns journal response
What do you think about some people having so much while others have so little? What do you think we can do
about it? How do you think the world should be?
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