Graphing a Story Narrative Handout

Read the following narratives carefully. You will use these stories to practice sketching graphs that represent the movement described.

Example 1 (For Direct Instruction)

The Morning Commute

Maria leaves her house and walks at a steady pace to the bus stop, which is 500 meters away. She waits for the bus for 5 minutes. The bus arrives and quickly takes her to school, which is 2000 meters from her house, much faster than she walks. After school, she takes the bus directly home.

Key Events to Consider:

1. Leaving house, walking to bus stop.
2. Waiting at the bus stop.
3. Bus ride to school.
4. Bus ride home from school.

Example 2 (For Guided Practice)

The Jogger's Journey

A jogger starts from their home and runs at a constant speed for 10 minutes, covering a distance of 1.5 kilometers. They then stop for a 5-minute water break. After the break, they jog back towards home, but at a slightly slower constant speed, until they reach their home.

Key Events to Consider:

1. Running away from home.
2. Stopping for a water break.
3. Running back home at a slower speed.

Graphing a Story Worksheet

Instructions: For each narrative below, sketch a time-distance graph that accurately represents the story. Label your axes (Time and Distance from Start) and include approximate units (e.g., minutes, meters). Pay attention to changes in speed, stops, and direction.

Question 1: The Jogger's Journey (Guided Practice)

Recall the narrative from the Handout: A jogger starts from their home and runs at a constant speed for 10 minutes, covering a distance of 1.5 kilometers. They then stop for a 5-minute water break. After the break, they jog back towards home, but at a slightly slower constant speed, until they reach their home.

Sketch your graph here:

Explain your graph choices for the jogger's journey:

Question 2: The Delivery Driver

A delivery driver starts from the depot and drives 3 miles to the first house in 6 minutes. They spend 2 minutes at the first house. Then, they drive another 2 miles to the second house in 3 minutes. After delivering the package, they drive directly back to the depot, covering 5 miles in 8 minutes.

Sketch your graph here:

Explain your graph choices for the delivery driver:

Question 3: The Rollercoaster Ride

A rollercoaster starts at the base of the first hill, slowly climbs to the top for 30 seconds, reaching a height equivalent to being 100 feet from the starting horizontal point. It then plunges down the hill very quickly for 5 seconds. After a brief, flat section for 10 seconds, it slowly climbs another smaller hill for 20 seconds, reaching 70 feet from the start, before smoothly descending back to the starting point in 15 seconds.

Sketch your graph here:

Explain your graph choices for the rollercoaster ride:

Create-a-Graph Story Project Guide

Project Goal

Your task is to create your own real-world narrative and a corresponding time-distance graph that accurately reflects the events in your story. You will then present your story and graph to a small group of classmates for peer feedback.

Project Components

1. Original Narrative (Written):

   • Write a short, clear story (5-8 sentences) about a journey or movement.
   • Your narrative should include at least four distinct phases of movement:
     • Moving away from a starting point at a constant speed.
     • Stopping/resting for a period of time.
     • Moving back towards the starting point at a constant speed.
     • A change in speed (either speeding up or slowing down, or moving faster/slower than another segment).
   • Be creative! You can write about a person, an animal, a vehicle, or even an object (e.g., a drone delivering a package).
   • Do not include the graph in your written narrative. Your classmates will try to graph it!

2. Time-Distance Graph (Drawn):

   • On a separate piece of graph paper, draw a time-distance graph that precisely matches your narrative.
   • Label your axes: Make sure to clearly indicate "Time" on the x-axis and "Distance from Start" on the y-axis.
   • Include units: Use appropriate units for both time (e.g., seconds, minutes) and distance (e.g., meters, blocks, miles).
   • Accurately represent:
     • Your starting point.
     • Periods of movement away from and towards the start.
     • Periods of no movement (stops).
     • Changes in speed (represented by the steepness of the line).
     • Any changes in direction.
   • This graph will be your answer key for your narrative.

Presentation & Peer Feedback

1. You will work in small groups. When it's your turn, read your narrative aloud to your group members.
2. Your group members will listen to your story and attempt to sketch a time-distance graph based on your narrative on a blank piece of paper.
3. After they have completed their sketches, you will reveal your own graph. Discuss the similarities and differences, and explain your choices.
4. Your group members will then use the Peer Feedback Rubric to provide constructive feedback on your narrative and their interpretation of it. You will also provide feedback to your peers.

Peer Feedback Rubric: Graphing a Story Project

Student Providing Feedback:


Student Being Evaluated:

Instructions: Read your classmate's narrative and attempt to sketch a graph. Then, compare your graph to theirs and use this rubric to provide constructive feedback. Circle the appropriate score for each criterion and add comments.

Criterion 1: Narrative Clarity & Detail

• 4 - Excellent: The narrative is very clear, engaging, and provides precise details that make it easy to visualize and graph.
• 3 - Good: The narrative is mostly clear with good details, but a few parts could be more precise for graphing.
• 2 - Developing: The narrative is somewhat clear, but lacks sufficient detail or has some confusing elements that make graphing challenging.
• 1 - Needs Work: The narrative is unclear, too brief, or contains contradictory information, making it very difficult to graph.

Comments:

Criterion 2: Narrative Elements for Graphing

• 4 - Excellent: The narrative clearly includes and describes at least four distinct phases of movement (moving away, stopping, moving towards, speed change) that are easily identifiable for graphing.
• 3 - Good: The narrative includes most of the required movement phases, but one or two might be less distinct or harder to interpret.
• 2 - Developing: The narrative includes some movement phases, but several are missing or are very ambiguous, making the graph difficult to create.
• 1 - Needs Work: The narrative is missing most of the required movement phases or is too vague to extract graphable information.

Comments:

Criterion 3: Graph Accuracy (Student being evaluated's graph)

• 4 - Excellent: The graph perfectly matches the narrative, accurately representing all changes in distance, speed, and stops. Axes are clearly labeled with appropriate units.
• 3 - Good: The graph largely matches the narrative, with minor discrepancies. Axes are mostly labeled with units.
• 2 - Developing: The graph has several inaccuracies or missing elements when compared to the narrative. Labels or units might be unclear or missing.
• 1 - Needs Work: The graph does not align with the narrative, or is incomplete/unlabeled to a significant degree.

Comments:

Criterion 4: Constructive Feedback Provided (Your feedback to peer)

• 4 - Excellent: Provided specific, actionable, and helpful feedback on both the narrative and the graph, clearly explaining reasoning.
• 3 - Good: Provided clear and mostly helpful feedback, but some suggestions could be more specific or detailed.
• 2 - Developing: Provided general feedback that lacked specific suggestions or was not entirely clear.
• 1 - Needs Work: Provided minimal or unhelpful feedback.

Comments: