Data Detective Day Script

Warm-Up: Data Driven Decisions (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Good morning/afternoon, aspiring sports data detectives! Welcome back. Today, we're going to dive into some exciting data. Before we begin, take a moment now, in your notebooks or on a scrap piece of paper, to jot down anything you remember about how data can be used in sports. How do coaches, sports journalists, or even fans use numbers and statistics to understand teams, players, or games?"

(Allow 2-3 minutes for students to write. Circulate the room.)

Teacher: "Alright, let's hear some of your brilliant thoughts. Who can share one way data is used in the world of sports?"

(Call on a few students. Guide them to mention things like tracking scores, player statistics, team rankings, comparing teams.)

Introduction & Objective (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Excellent! You're absolutely right. From player stats to team wins, data is everywhere in sports. Today, we're going to use real-world data to become sports data detectives! Our mission is to analyze athletic information from three different middle schools and determine which one might have the 'best' overall athletics program.

Our objective for today is: Students will be able to apply Google Sheets functions (COUNT, AVERAGE, SUM, SORT) to analyze provided athletic data from three middle schools and identify which school has the best athletics.

Why is comparing data important? Imagine you're trying to choose a new video game console, or a new phone. How do you decide? You compare their features, right? That's what we'll do today with school sports data!"

(Allow for a few student responses, emphasizing the idea of comparison.)

Teacher: "Exactly! Data helps us compare options, make informed decisions, and understand complex situations. And you're about to learn some powerful tools to do just that with our middle school athletic data."

Exploring Athletic Data with Google Sheets (15 minutes)

Teacher: "Okay, sports data detectives, let's open up our investigation tools! Please open the Google Sheet I've provided with athletic data from three different middle schools. You'll see information on sports like basketball, football, softball, baseball, track, lacrosse, and field hockey, including things like number of players, wins, and losses.

(Pause for students to open their Google Sheets.)

Teacher: "Look at all that data! It's a lot, right? To make sense of it, we're going to use some special formulas, or 'functions,' in Google Sheets. These functions act like super-smart calculators to help us quickly analyze the numbers.

First up is COUNT. (Refer to Data Detective Day Slide Deck Slide 3)

• Teacher: "What do you think COUNT might do in the context of this sports data?" (Allow responses - it counts things) "You got it! It counts the number of numerical entries in a chosen range of cells. This is super helpful if you want to quickly know how many players are in a certain sport, or how many games were played.Let's try it. Find an empty cell. Type =COUNT( then click and drag to select the column for 'Number of Players' for one of the schools, then close the parenthesis ). What number did you get? What does it tell you about that school's athletics?"

(Guide students, troubleshoot as needed. For example, if they selected a column with player numbers, COUNT would give them the total count of entries for players.)

Teacher: "Next, let's look at AVERAGE. (Refer to Data Detective Day Slide Deck Slide 4)

• Teacher: "If I wanted to know the 'typical' number of wins a particular school gets across all its sports, which function would help?" (Allow responses - AVERAGE) "Perfect! AVERAGE calculates the average, or mean, of a set of numbers. This gives us a good idea of a central value, like average wins per sport.Let's find the average wins for one of the schools. In another empty cell, type =AVERAGE( then select the column of 'Wins' for that same school, and close the parenthesis ). What do you see? What does this average tell you about that school's performance?"

(Again, guide and troubleshoot.)

Teacher: "Our third function is SUM. (Refer to Data Detective Day Slide Deck Slide 5)

• Teacher: "What does SUM make you think of for our sports data?" (Allow responses - total, adding up) "Exactly! SUM adds up all the numbers in a chosen range. This is useful if you want a grand total, like the total number of players across all sports for one school, or the total wins for all teams at a school.Let's try =SUM( on a column like 'Number of Players' for one school. What does this number represent?"

(Ensure students understand the context of the SUM for their data.)

Teacher: "You've just used three powerful tools to summarize our schools' athletic data! Now, open your Athletic Data Analyzer Worksheet. You'll find a few practice problems to apply these functions to the athletic data. Work independently, and I'll be around to help if you get stuck."

(Circulate, providing individual support as students work on the worksheet.)

Uncovering Strengths with SORT (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Great job with the formulas! Now, let's move on to something that helps us see patterns and compare schools more easily: SORT. (Refer to Data Detective Day Slide Deck Slide 7)

• Teacher: "Sometimes, seeing all the data jumbled up makes it hard to spot trends or easily compare. SORT lets us rearrange our entire sheet based on the values in one column, making patterns jump out at us!Here's how to do it: First, select your entire data range, including the header row. The easiest way is to click the square in the very top-left corner, between column A and row 1. Then, go to Data in the menu bar, then Sort range, and choose Advanced range sorting options. Make sure 'Data has header row' is checked.Now, choose one of your columns to sort by, for example, 'Wins' or 'Number of Players'. Pick either A to Z (ascending) or Z to A (descending) for the order. Click 'Sort'.What happened to your data? How did sorting by 'Wins' change the order of the schools or sports?"

(Guide students through the sorting process. Emphasize selecting all data.)

Teacher: "Now that your data is sorted, I want you to look for trends and strengths. For example, if you sorted by 'Wins' for a specific sport, which school appears to be the strongest? If you sorted by 'Number of Players,' which school has the most participants?

Turn to a partner and discuss: What kinds of strengths or dominant schools did you discover by sorting the athletic data? Use the prompts on the School Sports Debate Prompts to guide your conversation."

(Circulate and listen to student discussions, prompting deeper thinking about which school has the 'best' athletics based on different criteria.)

Athletic Data Challenge Activity (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Excellent discussions, sports data detectives! To solidify your understanding, we're going to do a quick 'Athletic Data Challenge' activity. (Refer to Data Detective Day Slide Deck Slide 9)

(Distribute the Athletic Data Challenge Activity or direct them to the digital version.)

Teacher: "In small groups, you'll have a mini-dataset to apply the COUNT, AVERAGE, SUM, and SORT functions to solve a quick data puzzle about which school has the 'best' athletics based on certain criteria. This is a chance to work together and see how these tools help you quickly answer comparative questions. You have about 5 minutes for this."

(Monitor group work, offer assistance.)

Cool Down: Sports Data Scoop (5 minutes)

Teacher: "Alright, sports data detectives, bring it back together. You've done some incredible work today, learning to wield the power of data analysis to compare and evaluate!

For our final task, please complete the Exit Ticket: Sports Data Scoop. On it, I'd like you to write down:

1. One new thing you learned today about analyzing and comparing data in Google Sheets.
2. One insight you gained about the athletic programs of the three middle schools.

This helps me see what stuck and what we might need to revisit. Thank you for being amazing sports data detectives!"

(Collect exit tickets as students leave or transition.)

Athletic Data Analyzer Worksheet: Comparing School Athletics

Name: _________________________ Date: _____________

Welcome, Athletic Data Analyzer! Today you'll use Google Sheets to examine data from three different middle schools to determine which one has the 'best' athletics program. Follow the steps below and fill in your answers.

Part 1: Summarizing Athletic Data with Formulas

Open the Google Sheet provided by your teacher, which contains athletic data for three middle schools across various sports.

Question 1: Using COUNT (Total Players for a School)

• Choose ONE of the three middle schools from the dataset.

  1. What is the name of the school you chose?
     
     
     
     

  2. In an empty cell in your Google Sheet, type the COUNT formula to count the number of numerical entries in the 'Number of Players' column only for the teams belonging to your chosen school.

     • Formula you used (e.g., =COUNT(B2:B10) if School A's player numbers are in B2-B10):
       
       
       
       

  3. What is the result of your COUNT formula?
     
     
     
     

  4. What does this number tell you about the number of participating athletes at your chosen school?
     
     
     
     

Question 2: Using AVERAGE (Average Wins Per Sport for a School)

• Using the same school from above:

  1. In an empty cell, type the AVERAGE formula to find the average number of wins for all the sports listed for that school.

     • Formula you used (e.g., =AVERAGE(C2:C10) if School A's wins are in C2-C10):
       
       
       
       

  2. What is the result of your AVERAGE formula?
     
     
     
     

  3. What does this average number suggest about the typical winning performance of teams at this school?
     
     
     
     

Question 3: Using SUM (Total Wins for a School)

• Using the same school from above:

  1. In an empty cell, type the SUM formula to add up all the wins for all the sports listed for that school.

     • Formula you used (e.g., =SUM(C2:C10)):
       
       
       
       

  2. What is the result of your SUM formula?
     
     
     
     

  3. In the context of school athletics, what does this total number represent for your chosen school?
     
     
     
     

Part 2: Sorting for Athletic Strengths

Now, let's use the SORT function to look for patterns and compare across all three schools.

1. Select all your data in the Google Sheet, including the header row (click the square between A and 1).
2. Go to Data > Sort range > Advanced range sorting options.
3. Make sure "Data has header row" is checked.

Question 4: Sorting by Total Wins (Overall Comparison)

• Sort your entire data sheet by the 'Wins' column in descending order (Z to A). This will put the highest performing teams at the top.

  1. Which school appears most frequently at the top of the sorted list, indicating stronger overall performance in terms of wins?
     
     
     
     

  2. What specific sports do you see that particular school excelling in based on this sorting?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Question 5: Sorting by Number of Players (Participation Comparison)

• Now, sort your entire data sheet by the 'Number of Players' column in descending order (Z to A). This will highlight sports with the most participants.

  1. Which school seems to have the highest participation across its sports, and in which specific sports?
     
     
     
     

  2. What might high participation numbers suggest about a school's athletic program?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Part 3: Reflection on School Athletics

Question 6: Best Athletics? (Your Conclusion)

• Based on your data analysis today (using COUNT, AVERAGE, SUM, and SORT), which of the three middle schools would you argue has the "best" overall athletics program? Explain your reasoning, referencing at least two pieces of data or trends you discovered.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• If you were a new student trying to pick a middle school based only on athletics, what specific data would you look at first, and why?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

School Sports Debate Prompts: Which School Wins?

Instructions: With your partner, discuss the following questions. Be ready to share some of your arguments with the class!

Our Sports Data Detective Discoveries:

1. After sorting the athletic data, what was the most interesting pattern or trend you noticed about one of the schools or a particular sport? Did anything surprise you?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. If you sorted by a specific sport (e.g., Basketball Wins), which school performed the best in that sport? Were there any close competitions?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. How did sorting the data help you compare the athletic programs of the different schools more effectively than just looking at the original list?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

4. Based on your sorted data and formula calculations (COUNT, AVERAGE, SUM), what is one strong argument you can make for which school has the "best" athletics program?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

5. What criteria do you think are most important when deciding which school has the "best" athletics (e.g., most wins, highest participation, variety of sports)? How did your data analysis support these criteria?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Athletic Data Challenge Activity: Mini-School Showdown

Instructions: Work in your small group to answer the questions below using the mini-dataset provided. You will need to use COUNT, AVERAGE, SUM, and SORT functions in a Google Sheet to analyze this data and compare our two mini-schools!

Our Mini-Dataset:

Imagine we have data for two small middle schools, Northwood and Southgate, for two sports:

Your Detective Tasks:

1. Count the Northwood Athletes: How many athletes are playing these three sports at Northwood Middle School in total? (Hint: Use COUNT on the 'Players' column for Northwood's data.)

   • Formula Used:
     
     
     
     
   • Result:
     
     
     
     

2. Average Southgate Wins: What is the average number of wins for Southgate Middle School across these three sports? (Hint: Use AVERAGE on the 'Wins' column for Southgate's data.)

   • Formula Used:
     
     
     
     
   • Result:
     
     
     
     

3. Total Lacrosse Wins: What is the combined total of wins for both Northwood and Southgate in Lacrosse? (Hint: Use SUM on the 'Wins' column, but only select the rows for Lacrosse.)

   • Formula Used:
     
     
     
     
   • Result:
     
     
     
     

4. Top Performing Sport (Overall): Sort the entire dataset by the 'Wins' column (descending, Z to A). Which sport (across both schools) appears to be the most dominant in terms of wins?

   • Trend Observed:
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

5. School with Most Players: Sort the entire dataset by the 'Players' column (descending, Z to A). Which school generally has more players in these sports?

   • School & Observation:
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Bonus Challenge: Based on this mini-dataset, if you were a coach looking for a school with strong overall team performance, which school (Northwood or Southgate) would you be more impressed by, and why? Use data to support your answer!

Exit Ticket: Sports Data Scoop

Name: ________________________ Date: _____________

Great work today, sports data detective! Take a few moments to reflect on what you learned.

1. One New Discovery: What is one new thing you learned today about analyzing and comparing data using Google Sheets functions (COUNT, AVERAGE, SUM, or SORT)?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Insight Gained: What is one interesting insight you gained about the athletic programs of the three middle schools we analyzed today?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Future Sports Analysis: How do you think these data analysis skills might be useful if you were a sports commentator, a team manager, or even just a very informed sports fan?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Warm-Up: Data Driven Decisions

Name: _________________________ Date: _____________

Welcome back, data explorers! Before we dive deeper into our athletic data analysis, let's jog our memories and connect to the world of sports.

1. Think about sports you watch or play. In what ways do people use numbers or statistics in sports (e.g., scores, player stats, team rankings)?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Imagine you need to decide which of two sports teams is "better." What kind of data or information would you look at to make your decision?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Why do you think it's important to look at multiple pieces of data when comparing teams or schools, instead of just one number?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. What do you hope to learn today by looking at data from different middle school athletic programs?