Kate O’Connell, TEDU 522. 902
Field Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 2nd Grade
You Are Bugging Me! Lesson Plan
I.
Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is to have students review probability and statistics
by having an experiment where students can make a bar graph and answer
questions in order to facilitate their learning.

VA SOL Mathematics 2.17 The student will use data from experiments to
construct picture graphs, pictographs, and bar graphs.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.D.10 Draw a picture graph and a bar graph
(with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve
simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems1 using information
presented in a bar graph.
II.
Objectives

As an individual, students will complete a bar graph with the correct data,
titles, and labels on their bar graph worksheet with 80% accuracy.
III.
Procedure
Introduction

The teacher will ask students to explain what a bar graph is. (A)

The teacher will ask students to help make a bar graph, based on favorite
flavors of ice cream.

The teacher will tally the answers on the board and make a bar graph. (V)

The students will fill in the title and labels by raising their hands and
communicating.

After a pre-review, the teacher will tell the students if they have any questions
and if they are ready to make their own bar graphs.
Development

The teacher will ask students what they notice about their classroom.
o Q: Do you see anything odd about our classroom today?

The teacher will tell the students that a window was left open and all the bugs
invaded the classroom last night, the teacher will point out all the different
bugs throughout the classroom.

The teacher will ask students for help “whacking” these bugs with a fly
swatter.

The students will be collecting date on the kinds of bugs so they can make a
graph.
o Q: What type of graph do you think we should make?

The students will each get a copy of the “Bug-Whacking Data Collection”
worksheet.

The teacher will ask students ways to keep track of the bugs that are whacked
and list the ideas on the board. (A, V)
o For example, tally marks, check marks, counting, and pictures.
o The class will use tally marks.

The students are important in this activity because they are witnessing the data
and recording the data, which must be done precisely and accurately.

The teacher will call on students one at a time to come up to the board, hold
the fly swatter, turned around twice, and whack a bug on the board. (V, K)

The students will tell their classmates the bug that they whacked.

The teacher will have the students write the name of the bug and make a tally
mark on their worksheets.
o The pictures of bugs should not be removed.
o Every student should have a turn.

As a class, the students will count their tallies and find the total for all the
bugs beings whacked.

As a class, we will make a picture graph. (V)

The students will discuss and communicate the parts of the graph that need to
be labeled.
o Title, Key, Axis

The teacher will call on students to share their data and to help tape the
pictures on the picture graph.
o The students should be checking that their data matches the data on the
picture graph.

The teacher will hand out the “Bar Graph” worksheet.

The students will work in pairs to create a vertical bar graph using the same
data.

The students will self-check, with the help of the teacher and co-operating
teacher, using the checklist on the right hand corner.
Summary

The students will return to the carpet and have a classroom discussion. (A)
o Q: In the picture graph, why do we need a key?
o Q: If we change the picture graph to be horizontally, is it still a picture
graph? Why or why not?
o Q: In your bar graph, what does one bar mean?
o Q: How can we show that one bar equals one bug?
o Q: What are the most important parts of a graph?

IV.
Title, Key, Axis
Materials

Promethean Board

Worksheets
o Bug Whacking Data Collection
o Bar Graph

Cut-outs
o Bug Pictures sheet
o Whacked Bug sheet

Fly swatter

Chart Paper

Tape

Markers

Students:
o Pencil
o Clipboard
o Colored Pencils/Crayons/Markers
V.
Evaluation Part A

The students will be pre-assessed based off their answers and questions during
the introduction of the lesson.

The students will be assessed on the completion of their “Bug Whacking Data
Collection” worksheet having the correct tally marks and total with 80%
accuracy.

The students will be assessed on the completion of their bar graph having a
title, axes labels, and bar labels with 80% accuracy.

The students will be post-assessed based of their answers during the summary
of the lesson.
o Both the pre- and post-assessment will be assessed by correct answers
communicate clearly for all peers to hear and understand.
VI.
Adaptations/Remediation

For struggling students:
o If students have difficulty picking colors or staying in the lines, which
is important for accuracy, allow the student to use pre-cut pieces of
paper to fill in their bar graph.
o If students have difficulty with labeling, allow them to choose predetermined labels from a word box.
VII. Extensions

For advanced students:
o Allow students to use more challenging increments for the pictograph
key. The students should use a key rather than 1 or 2, 5 or 6 bugs per
pictures.
o For advanced students, allow them to finish writing prompt that deal
with bar graph and picture graph to finish and complete for
understanding.

Extension for whole class:
o The students can complete an exercise by using another class. The
students will survey their peers in an older grade, which allows older
students to help make sure the students are collecting the data
correctly.
o The students will complete a survey on the question, “What bug are
you most scared of?”
o The students can collect data and create another bar graph based off
their information.
VII.
Evaluation Part B
The students completed a bar graph based on the data collected as a class activity.
The students worksheet was graded on four components. The four components include
title, axes labels, bar labels, and neat work. The students were instructed to make sure
they had completed that in order to turn in their assignment. There were 16 students for
the lesson, 11 got 100%, 3 got 87.5%, 1 got 75%, and 1 got 50%. The student who got
75% was a new student that day and was having difficulty communicating with peers and
myself. The student who got 50% was there for half the lesson and was also having
trouble communicating with me. The student average for the assignment was 92.97% and
at least 87.5% of the students met the objective.
First, the lesson went well because the activity was exciting, imaginative, and
engaging. The students enjoyed being hands on with the activity by whacking the bugs
and did well at answering questions. The students liked to talk with their peers and work
in pairs. The activity also went well because it was a topic students had already
investigated. The students work together to figure out a title, which involved an
interesting conversation and lots of laughter. If I were to do this lesson again, I would add
more space to the board in order to add more bugs.
However, the lesson had its shortcomings. The students wanted to get certain bugs,
therefore they would hit bee or dragonfly more and on purpose. At the end of the lesson
with only a few students left, I changed it up and modified it. I had students actually close
their eyes and I helped direct them to the board. This helped the lesson and allowed
diversity in the bugs we whacked. This made the lesson more difficult to work with at
first, but luckily helped transition it to better answers.
The lesson did run smoothly and was the best one taught so far. The students
understood my signals and respected raising hands. The students were able to listen, wait,
and then raise their hands. There were one or two disruptions, but were handled by the
cooperating teacher due to its nature. I challenged students by asking them what goes on
the y-axis. The students came up very quickly what came on the x-axis, but had difficulty
truly explaining what goes on the y-axis.
This required a classroom discussion and after a few minutes of talking, 75% of the
students raised their hands and gave me the same answer. It was important that they came
up with reasoning for that answer, which 70% of those students did. For the most part, I
believe the students did understand the material. I believe they understood it because of
our introduction of the lesson and the review of this material. I asked the students open
ended questions, like those above. The questions at the summary of the lesson were key
for me to check in with every student and allowed students to listen to their peers. I did
adequately address the question, because I asked students to repeat my answer and ask
them to explain it in their own words.
The use of manipulatives, which included the fly swatter and pictures on the board,
were effective and engaging. If I were to complete this lesson again, I would make them
bigger and more pictures. The ineffective part of the lesson was the lack of chart paper
and working with the Promethean board. However, it was an adaptable situation that
eventually worked.