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Lesson Plan Smarty Pants

Lesson Procedure

1. What’s your favourite colour or flavour in a packet of Skittles? Why is there sometimes more of our least favourite colour or flavour in a packet of Skittles, than the ones we love the most? Discuss and hypothesise with students. Explain to students that they are going to test this theory.
2. Students are each given a small packet of Skittles or similar candies and are asked to estimate and record how many of each colour is likely to be in the packet. The packet is then opened, colours are classified and the actual results are recorded in an excel spreadsheet. See instructions on how to record date in an excel spreadsheet.
3. Now that the data has been recorded, use the Excel Chart Wizard to illustrate this information as a graph. See sample file (Skittles Graph.xls)
4. Write an explanation of the activity in Microsoft Word organising and summarising the results and implications of the research. Things to consider include:
• Are all colours equally distributed?
• Does one particular colour dominate all packets?
• How popular is the most dominant colour Skittle amongst peers?
• How close was the original hypothesis to the actual average?
5. Now compare your results with that of other class members. Were the results similar? Discuss why they were or were not. Enjoy eating your skittles.

Assessment

When assessing student learning consider:

• Were students able to gather and organise data, display data using tables and graphs, and interprets the results?

• Did students uses appropriate terminology to describe, and symbols to represent, mathematical ideas?

How to create a colour distribution graph

Recording information in a table

1. Open Microsoft Excel
2. In cell A1 type in the heading Colours
3. In cell B1 type in the heading Estimate
4. In cell C1 type in the heading Actual
5. Highlight the row and select the Bold button and the Center button

6. Under the heading colours, record all the colours found in a packet of Skittles
7. At the end of the colour list, type in Total
8. Under the heading Estimate, record the estimated amount of each colour to be found in the packet
9. Open the packet and record the actual amount of each colour found
10. Highlight the numbers in the Estimate column and click the Auto Sum button.

11. The total of your estimated numbers will be recorded in the row titled Total
12. Use the Auto Sum button find the total for the Actual column, see example.
13. From the File menu, select Save As. Type in the heading Skittles Graph. Save document to the school server

Creating the graph

Using the Chart Wizard, we are going to represent the data in graph form.

1. Highlight all cells created in the table except the row that contains the Total
2. Select the Chart Wizard button

3. Select Column from the chart options and click Next
4. The Data Range is correct so click Next
5. Type in the heading Skittles Colour Mix, see sample
6. You may name the axis if you choose and even experiment with Gridlines and Legend options
7. Click Next
8. Select As New Sheet

9. Your graph will now be created and stored as Chart 1. To access your sheet where you created the original data, or your chart click on the tabs at the bottom of your page

Playing with colour

The primary function of a graph is to display data in a visual form. Experiment with colour and pattern to achieve an easy to read, self explanatory graph.

1. To change the colours of features on your chart, double click on the area and select colour and fill effects to suit
2. By double clicking on a column, all columns in that series are highlighted. Double click the column a second time to highlight the individual column
3. Select Save from the File menu. See more information here.

Gathering more information

Now that we have graphed our individual results, we are going to compare our results with those of fellow classmates. To do this we are going to share information with peers via email.

1. Open Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express
2. Select Create New Document
3. In the To: field, type in the email address of three fellow students, separating each with a semicolon
4. In Subject, type Skittles Graph
5. Type a brief message requesting that your peers share the results of their Skittles Colour Mix research
6. To share your results with your peers, click the Attach button and select your saved Excel document titled Skittles Graph. Click Insert

7. Click the Send button

Creating a comparison chart using shared results

Once you have received replies to your emails, the attachments will be opened and the data recorded to create a comparison graph.

1. Return to your Excel document
2. From the bottom of your screen select the tab Sheet 2. This gives you a blank worksheet within the same document to work from

3. In cell A1 type in the heading Colour
4. Begin at cell B2 and type in the headings Box 1, Box 2, Box 3, Box 4, and Average
5. Under the heading Colours, type in the list of colours found in the skittles packet
6. Under the heading Box 1, type in your Actual results as recorded in the first table.
7. From Microsoft Outlook, open the reply emails from peers and double click on the attachment to open the sent file containing data results
8. Copy the Actual results from these tables into your Excel Worksheet 2

Using formulas

We are going to use the Auto Sum feature to calculate the average for each colour.

1. Highlight cells B2 to E2
2. Click the downwards arrow next to the Auto Sum button to activate the drop down menu
3. Select Average
4. The average will be automatically calculated and placed in the next cell
5. From the Edit menu, select Fill then click down. The formulae will automatically apply to and be calculated for all rows
6. Use the Decrease Decimal button to adjust averages to whole numbers. See sample.
7. From the File menu select Save
8. Save the document to the appropriate place on the school server

Creating the graph

Using the Chart Wizard, we are going to represent the data in graph form.

1. Highlight all cells created in the table
2. Select the Chart Wizard button

3. Select Column from the chart options and click Next
4. The Data Range is correct so click Next
5. Type in the heading Skittles Colour Mix - Averages
6. Click Next
7. Select As New Sheet
8. Your graph will now be created and stored as Chart 2
9. Experiment with colour and fill effects by double clicking on specific areas in your chart. See sample.