I really like my 5 Favorites Weekly Graph. I think it has helped the kids learn the ins and outs of reading a graph or a table really well.
We use all of the graphing vocabulary (greater than, less than, equal, 3 more than, 2 less than, greatest, least, same etc.) The manipulating of the words to describe the graph has made ALL THE DIFFERENCE in their ability to talk about graphs, in my opinion. That is the piece that is missing when we study graphs and tables and looking at data. They don’t know what table, survey, pie chart, bar graph, and tally marks mean, UNTIL you do lots of activities with them and TALK about them.
One thing that helped me was putting up a graphing pocket chart in my room with the Weekly Graph listed on top and a bulletin board decorated nearby that listed the question of the week. I then put together a binder of about 20 cute scrapbook paper ideas typed out on the different papers; what is your favorite ______. I knew I wouldn’t have time during the year so I worked on it in the summer.
I looked up a great website called Little Giraffes. She is a Kindergarten teacher who I think has retired since, but she had done a graph a day. I think that is insane because I personally could never keep that up. But she inspired me. So I took on graph a week and I must confess that we never got to it every single week. But maybe 3 times out of the month (or like in December only one time) but we did revisit graphing enough to get it down.
I found recently a great blog where the teacher listed graphs ideas for all year and lots of integration of subjects. It would be a great place to start to form your own graph of the week binder. Mind consists of page protectors and inside I place the page of scrapbook paper with, for example, Halloween paper with “What is your favorite Halloween Candy?” Typed on it. A list of tons of stuff to graph can be found at this Link to Forsythe County Schools website. Another link I found that has graph a day topics is HERE at Kinderpond.
Then inside the page protector I also have the 5 choices. This year I cut off wrappers of Halloween candy like a Skittles wrapper, a Snickers bar wrapper, etc. Then I place those 5 things (or 5 things listed on red apple cut outs) which I will use for the graphing pocket chart.
Here are some pictures of my Weekly Graph. And here is a fantastic blog that gives a gazillion graphing ideas over the course of a year of planning HERE. Another thing that helps kids is actually collecting data from a survey. It is really and truly easy and the kids love going around collecting tally marks on kid’s favorites in the class. A post I did a while back on how I did class surveys and bar graphs is Surveys and Graphs blogpost HERE. I hope you can do a weekly graph too! It is fun.