Students come into my math class with some sort of background with scatter plots. They generally have an understanding of how graphs work, so identifying if the graph has a positive, negative, or no correlation is pretty simple for them to figure out. It probably helps that we teach this topic after they’ve had an extensive introduction to slope. Overall, interpreting scatter plot graphs may be the easiest topic that we teach all year. It’s fairly intuitive, and builds naturally on the slope concepts students study in 8th grade. In this post I’ll break down all of the notes I use to teach students to read and interpret scatter plots and bivariate data in our interactive notebooks.
In addition to interpreting scatter plots, the eighth grade standards also include teaching about linear modeling and how all of this graphing works in real life situations. I like to teach it all together as one unit. Looking at scatter plots is basically a way to build background for the linear modeling part of the unit. This unit is where students get to synthesize what they’ve been learning during the first couple of months of this school year.
Teaching scatter plots and linear models with interactive notebooks
I use interactive notebooks with my class for a couple of different reasons. First and foremost it is a reference for students to refer to throughout the year. Also, it is a place where we discuss objectives and reflect on learning. Lastly, we complete some example problems and build background within our notes. As with other topics, we use 5 components in our notebook to create a cohesive set of notes for scatter plots and linear modeling. Let’s dig in and look at what this looks like as a complete unit in the interactive notebook.
I can statements
There are four objectives that we focus on with scatter plots. They range from easy to a little more complicated. Vocabulary takes center stage because many of the students I work with lack academic vocabulary proficiency. It can be difficult for students to talk and think about things that they don’t have the words for. We use these I can statements at the beginning or end of each class period to keep us on track for our learning.
Looking for more tips & tricks on implementing interactive notebooks and foldables in your classroom? Want to get all my 7th and 8th grade I Can statements ready to download and print? You’ll want to check out this FREE mini-course on how to get the most out of interactive notebooks. It’s a 5 part series delivered right to your inbox. By the end, you’ll have your own customized plan for either starting, or ramping up, interactive notebooks in your class.
At this point in the year we’ve worked a lot with slope, but now we get into the word problems. Students have to glean the equation from a story or situation. So, I include some objectives that have students review a little bit of what we’ve learned previously.
Also, students have to take given situations and substitute in the equation to find the outcome of situation. Students need a lot of practice with this part of the concept. They’re still novices when it comes to understanding what a variable represents.
Building background
Many of the background building activities that we use throughout the year are for vocabulary, including this notebook activity. I let students try to label a scatter plot graph with vocabulary terms first on their own, and then we see how they did. While they’re working on it you can walk around the room and listen. This gives you a chance to hear and see how well they know these words. I love to listen to them talk about math, and sometimes they’ll say things that you’ve never thought of before. This gives me a great chance to learn from my students exactly where they need help.
After we go over the correct labels, students glue the correct answers down. At the end of this vocabulary activity students are a little more prepared to use these words, and they have a great visual reminder of the terms we’ll be using.
Using graphic organizer to set the stage for practice
I like to make my foldables and graphic organizers as simple as possible. I don’t like to have a lot of words on them because that can become distracting when students use them as a reference later. When we reflect or draw conclusions, that’s usually outside of the notebook because it’s for processing purposes and not for students to go back to. Let’s look at the 3 sets of notes I used in this unit to break things down for students.
Reading a scatter plot foldable notes
Ultimately, the inclusion of scatter plots in the 8th grade standards focuses on having students not just solve math problems, but to be able to identify trends in data. To me this seems like one of the most useful forms of math that we teach. Many people have to work with data in their jobs as well as in their personal lives. Also, it’s visually appealing and not as abstract as some other things that we teach.
Inside this foldable, students label a graph, plot the data, and identify trends in the data from a real life situation. This provides a great way to model the thinking for students, as well as provide a helpful reference moving forward.
Line of best fit examples and non-examples
I have tried to teach lines of best fit many different ways, but the best way I’ve found goes back to my roots as an ELL teacher. Looking at examples and non-examples can be very powerful to help students see patterns. In this foldable students have to discover what makes an example a proper line of best fit, and what make it not a line of best fit. In other words, they examine examples of line of best fit, and non-examples, and then explain the patterns they’re seeing.
After examining the examples and non-examples of line of best fit, students create their own example and non-example. Going through this process really helps students see what they’re being asked to find. And again, this makes a handy reference for later.
Writing an equation from a story graphic organizer
In the third foldable notes page, we go step by step through an example of how to solve the situation that’s presented. This notes page gives students a step by step guide of how to attack problems like this. Whenever we do problems, I make sure that I mention all of the steps and then have students repeat and talk about them. One crazy thing that happens in teaching is when students can do something in one context, but when one little thing changes they forget what to do. This graphic organizer is built to combat that issue.
Let’s work it out
Including practice pages in the notes gives me a chance to model problems with my students. By the last problem I let students try it on their own. We look back at our foldable notes and follow those steps to solve the problems. You could also use the same situations and give students different inputs and outputs to work with if you need additional practice.
For practicing with scatter plots we use the page below. It brings together the vocabulary for scatter plots, making a line of best fit, and drawing a conclusion about the trends in the data. This also gives students a chance to annotate the problem. I like to model the annotation on the first problem and then have them do it on the other two. To talk through their work, I have students do a lot of sharing with partners and then share out with the class.
Cheat sheet
I love two column notes for identifying words related to y-intercept and slope. It works as a great visual way to separate the words that go with each concept. We can also add to this chart as we go. The same words will keep showing up, so as we see them repeated we add them to our list, or check to make sure that they’re already on there. This helps make the connections that students need to cement this into their brains.
This cheat sheet reminds students of the words they’ll see and use when talking about trends of scatter plots and liner modeling. It’s helpful as we move into the practice and application part of the unit.
Putting it all together
At the end of these notes, students are ready to roll. We start practicing with scatter plots and linear modeling.
Ultimately, you have to choose what works for your situation. For example, you might not have time to use everything, or you may choose to go with a different foldable that works for your class better. The most important thing I’ve found with interactive notebooks is to have a plan that goes from the beginning of the unit to the end. Also, I’m reminded every year that students need to see scatter plots and linear modeling in different contexts to make the connections they need. This notes sequence helps my students get familiar with these concepts and be ready to apply their new knowledge.
To see this whole notes set, ready to just print and go, check out the Scatter Plots Notebook Bundle here.
Thanks so much for reading. Until next time!
