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Our Ancestry: A Bar Graph Story

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Lesson Plan

Our Ancestry: A Bar Graph Story

Students will be able to collect data on their family's country of origin, organize this data, and create a bar graph to visually represent the diversity within the classroom. Students will understand the components of a bar graph and how to interpret it.

Understanding our ancestral origins connects us to history and geography while celebrating the rich diversity of our classroom. Creating bar graphs provides a practical application of math skills, helping students visualize and interpret data in a meaningful way relevant to their own lives.

Audience

5th Grade Students

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Hands-on data collection and graph creation.

Materials

Whiteboard or projector, Markers or pens, Ancestry Bar Graph Slide Deck, Ancestry Exploration Worksheet, Bar Graph Templates, and Crayons or colored pencils

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Where Are We From?

5 minutes

  • Begin with the Warm-Up: Where Are We From? activity to get students thinking about their heritage. Ask students to share one country their ancestors are from, if they know. Briefly discuss the idea of ancestry and why it's interesting to learn about our roots.
  • Teacher Note: Emphasize that it's okay if students don't know or if their family is from many places. The goal is participation and initial reflection.

Step 2

Introduction to Bar Graphs & Ancestry

10 minutes

  • Use the Ancestry Bar Graph Slide Deck to introduce what a bar graph is and its components (title, axes, labels, scale).
  • Explain how a bar graph can be used to compare data, like the number of students with ancestors from different countries.
  • Distribute the Ancestry Exploration Worksheet. Guide students to identify one or two countries of origin for their ancestors (or a country they feel connected to if ancestral information is unknown or complex).

Step 3

Data Collection & Graphing

10 minutes

  • Facilitate a class data collection. Go around the room and ask each student to share one country they identified on their Ancestry Exploration Worksheet.
  • As students share, tally the results on the whiteboard or a projected document. Group similar countries or regions if needed (e.g., 'Various European Countries').
  • Distribute the Bar Graph Templates. Instruct students to create a bar graph using the class data collected. Remind them to include all necessary components of a bar graph (title, labeled axes, appropriate scale, and colored bars).

Step 4

Share & Reflect

5 minutes

  • Have a few students share their completed bar graphs and discuss what they observe about the class's ancestral origins.
  • Lead a brief discussion: 'What does our bar graph tell us about our class?' and 'Why is it important to learn about where our families come from?'
  • Conclude with the Cool-Down: One Thing I Learned activity.
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Slide Deck

Our Ancestry: A Bar Graph Story

Exploring where we come from and how to show it!

Welcome students and introduce the exciting topic of discovering where our families come from and how we can show that with math!

What is Ancestry?

Where do our families come from?

Our ancestors are the family members who lived before us.

They often traveled from different countries around the world!

Ask students: 'What do you think 'ancestry' means?' Allow a few responses. Explain that ancestry is about our ancestors – the people in our family who came before us, like our great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents. These people often came from different countries, bringing unique cultures and stories.

Let's Graph Our Roots!

We can use a bar graph to show and compare information about our class!

A bar graph uses bars of different lengths to show how much or how many of something there is.

Introduce the idea of using math to understand our class better. Ask: 'How can we show information about where everyone's ancestors are from in a clear way?' Lead to the idea of a graph. Introduce bar graphs as a great way to compare different groups of things.

Parts of a Bar Graph

  • Title: Tells us what the graph is about.
  • Labels: Tell us what each bar and axis represents.
  • Axes: The lines that form the sides of the graph (horizontal and vertical).
  • Scale: The numbers that show the quantity for each bar.
  • Bars: The colored rectangles that represent the data.

Go over the main parts of a bar graph. Explain each point clearly, referencing a visual example if possible (even a simple sketch). Emphasize that all these parts help make the graph easy to understand.

Collecting Our Class Data

Each person will share one country where their ancestors are from.

(If you're not sure, pick a country you know a family member has lived in, or one you feel connected to!)

We will tally up the results as a class!

Explain that we'll be collecting data from our own class. Each student will choose one country of origin to share. Reiterate that it's okay if they don't know a specific country, they can pick one they feel connected to. Prepare to tally responses on the board.

Creating Your Bar Graph

  1. Title your graph: "Our Class Ancestry"
  2. Label the bottom axis with the 'Countries of Origin'.
  3. Label the side axis 'Number of Students'.
  4. Choose a scale for the 'Number of Students' (e.g., counting by 1s or 2s).
  5. Draw bars for each country based on our class data.
  6. Make your graph colorful!

Instruct students on how to transfer the tallied class data to their own bar graphs. Remind them about the important parts of a bar graph discussed earlier. Encourage neatness and clear labeling.

Sharing Our Stories

What does our bar graph tell us about our class?

What do you notice about all the different places our families come from?

It's amazing how diverse we are!

Open the floor for students to share their completed graphs and discuss what they learned. Encourage observations about similarities and differences in the class's ancestral makeup. This is a moment to celebrate diversity.

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Warm Up

Where Are We From?

Take a moment to think about your family's history. Where did your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents live? Do you know of any countries your family came from a long time ago?

If you know, write down one country your ancestors are from.












If you're not sure, write down a country you find interesting to learn about!












Be ready to share your country with the class!

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Worksheet

Ancestry Exploration

It's time to explore your family's history! Think about where your family members, like your parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents, were born or lived. These are your ancestors!

Part 1: Thinking About Your Roots

  1. Do you know any countries your family or ancestors came from?






  2. Talk to a partner (or think to yourself): Why is it interesting to know where your family comes from?






Part 2: Your Ancestral Country for Our Graph

For our class bar graph, we will each share ONE country of origin for our ancestors. This will help us see the amazing diversity in our classroom!

Write down ONE country your ancestors are from. If you are unsure, you can choose a country that a family member has lived in, or one that you feel a special connection to.

My ancestral country for our bar graph is:













Be ready to share this country with the class!

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Worksheet

Our Class Ancestry Bar Graph

Use the class data we collected to create your own bar graph!

Remember to include:

  • A clear Title
  • Labels for both the horizontal (Countries of Origin) and vertical (Number of Students) axes
  • An appropriate Scale for the 'Number of Students' axis
  • Neatly drawn Bars for each country

Color your graph to make it vibrant!





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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Cool Down

One Thing I Learned

Take a moment to reflect on today's lesson about ancestry and bar graphs.

What is one new thing you learned today? It could be about your own ancestry, about bar graphs, or something else entirely!













How do you think knowing about our ancestors helps us understand our world better?













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