Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Graphics: Pie Charts

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 7 minutes)

The objective definition phase is crucial to guide both the teacher and the students on what is expected to be achieved by the end of the lesson. With clear and well-defined objectives, students can focus their learning efforts on the essential skills they need to develop. Furthermore, it allows the teacher to structure the lesson efficiently and purposefully, maximizing classroom time and ensuring that all important aspects of the topic are adequately explored and understood.

Main Objectives:

1. Analyze data presented in pie charts, identifying patterns, trends, and relationships between parts and the whole.

2. Understand and explain when it is appropriate to use pie charts instead of other types of graphs, justifying the choice based on the nature of the data.

3. Extract specific quantitative information from pie charts, such as percentages and proportions, and use this information in practical contexts.

Side Objectives:

1. Develop critical thinking skills when analyzing and interpreting visual data.
2. Foster group discussion about the choice and application of graphs in different contexts.

Introduction

Duration: (10 - 15 minutes)

The introduction phase is crucial to engage students and connect the content learned at home with practice in the classroom. By introducing problem situations, students are challenged to think critically about how to apply their prior knowledge in new and relevant contexts, promoting a deeper understanding of the topic. Contextualization, in turn, helps to understand the practical relevance and applicability of pie charts in everyday situations, motivating students to learn with curiosity and interest.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine that you are the manager of a supermarket and need to present the sales of different departments to the shareholders. How could you use a pie chart to clearly show which department contributed the most to sales?

2. Think of a survey conducted at school about students' favorite snacks. The collected data shows the preference of 300 students among five different options. How could a pie chart help visualize these preferences effectively?

Contextualization

Pie charts are powerful visual tools widely used in various fields, from business to education and science, to represent proportions and percentages of a whole. For example, they are often used to illustrate the distribution of expenses in household budgets or the proportions of different categories of products sold by a company. Moreover, they are essential for presentations where it is desired to highlight the relative importance of different segments in an intuitive and immediately understandable way.

Development

Duration: (70 - 75 minutes)

The development phase is designed to allow students to practically and collaboratively apply the knowledge acquired about pie charts. By engaging in playful and contextualized activities, they not only consolidate their understanding of creating and interpreting pie charts but also develop important skills such as teamwork, communication, and critical thinking. This section is central to transforming theory into practice, allowing students to visualize and manipulate real or simulated data and observe the applicability of concepts in everyday situations.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - Math Pizza Festival

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Develop data analysis skills and understanding of pie charts, as well as promote collaboration and communication among students.

- Description: In this activity, students will be divided into groups of up to five members to analyze sales data of different pizza flavors. Each group will receive a set of fictitious data about pizza sales in a pizzeria over a month. The challenge is to create a pie chart representing the proportion of sales for each pizza flavor and present their conclusions about which flavor is the most popular and why the pie chart is the best way to present this data.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to five students.

• Distribute the fictitious data on pizza sales.

• Instruct students to calculate the sales percentages for each flavor.

• Guide them in creating a pie chart using the calculated percentages.

• Prepare a short presentation to explain the created chart and their conclusions.

• Present to the class and discuss the choices of the charts.

Activity 2 - The Great Pie Tournament

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Promote critical understanding of data representation in pie charts and stimulate argumentation and critical analysis skills.

- Description: Students will be challenged to participate in a 'tournament' where each group creates a pie chart based on a prior survey about favorite sports at school. Each group must analyze the data, create the chart, and then argue why their chart provides the best visualization of the data compared to other groups.

- Instructions:

• Form groups of up to five students.

• Hand out the survey results about favorite sports.

• Guide students in creating pie charts with the provided data.

• Each group must prepare a defense explaining why their chart is the most effective.

• Hold presentations and a debate among the groups to discuss the advantages of each chart presented.

Activity 3 - Sector Explorers

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Teach the importance and methodology of visualizing financial data in pie charts, developing mathematical and presentation skills.

- Description: This activity involves students in creating a pie chart to analyze the annual budget of a school event. Groups will receive information about costs in various categories and must decide how to best represent this data in a pie chart to present to the school administration.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of no more than five students.

• Provide data about the budget of a school event, divided by categories.

• Assist students in converting the values into percentages.

• Supervise the creation of the pie chart with the percentages.

• Organize a presentation for the simulated school administration, where each group explains their chart.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

This feedback stage is essential to consolidate students' learning, allowing them to verbally articulate what they learned and how they would apply the knowledge in real situations. Group discussion helps reinforce understanding of the concepts and the importance of pie charts, in addition to developing communication and critical argumentation skills.

Group Discussion

At the end of the activities, gather all students for a group discussion. Start the conversation by recalling the objectives of the lesson and ask students about their experiences during the activities. Encourage them to share insights, difficulties, and learnings. Use directed questions to stimulate reflection and debate among the groups, focusing on the importance of pie charts and how they can be applied in different contexts.

Key Questions

1. Which pie chart did you find most effective and why?

2. What challenges did you face when turning data into pie charts and how did you overcome them?

3. How would you use the pie chart in other real-life situations?

Conclusion

Duration: (5 - 7 minutes)

The conclusion stage is designed to solidify learning, ensuring that students can link theoretical content with the practice experienced during the activities. In addition to summarizing key points, this section reinforces the relevance of pie charts in daily life, preparing students to apply the knowledge acquired in future academic, professional, or personal situations.

Summary

To conclude, the teacher should review the main points addressed about pie charts, emphasizing how they help in the visual representation of data and proportions. It should be recapped how to calculate percentages and represent them in the charts, in addition to recalling the practical situations discussed during the activities.

Theory Connection

Today's lesson demonstrated how the theory of pie charts applies in practice through interactive activities. Students had the opportunity to transform raw data into clear visual information and discuss their applications in real contexts, such as opinion polls and sales analysis.

Closing

Finally, it is crucial to understand that pie charts are more than just mathematical tools; they are essential for effective decision-making and presentations in everyday life, whether in academic, professional, or personal contexts. The ability to create and interpret these charts allows for more efficient and informed communication of important information.