Data Displays.. Desk Drawing Style {Mid-Week Math Motivation}

Hello friends!  My class is doing some testing review and we have to know about data displays.  I always find that the space they give you on worksheets IS.. SO...SMALL!!  We need a half page at least to draw out our histograms or box plots!  My loose-leaf paper supply is getting a little low, and I needed a new way to keep my Smarties motivated, so I decided to bring out the dry erase markers and let them write on their desks <GASP>.  They almost died when I told them it was ok!  I always think that is the funniest part of letting them write on the desk.  I don't do it very often, and usually save it for towards the end of the year, just so that it is something new and fun for them!

Anyway, we drew our line plots, histograms and box plots on the desks this past week.  I could definitely tell that allowing my students an opportunity to do something different kept them motivated and willing to work.  The dry erase markers are easy to clean off of our desks using some tissue and hand sanitizer.  I have found that the green dry erase markers are a little more tough to get off, but nothing a little elbow grease and a Clorox wipe couldn't handle.

Using the motivation of writing on the desks, we managed to cover the basics of a box plot and how to use our upper and lower quartiles pretty quickly which I was happy about because testing is coming up.  After our state assessments I'll go back through these points again, and we'll do a STEM lab involving data that we gather from paper airplane flying to create our data displays.  I'll be writing about that in the next few weeks, but if you happen to be looking for a fun interactive math lab, you can go {HERE} to check it out.

Have a great week!  Thanks for stopping by for a little Mid-Week Math Motivation!