Materials
Cat's Colors by Jane Cabrera
construction paper in several colors
stapler
black marker
magazines
scissors
Instructions
l Draw the grid for a bar graph on the dry-erase board and the poster board.
What to Do
1. Explain to the children that a graph is a way to organize information. It makes
information easier to see and understand, making it easier to answer questions
about the information. Tell them they are going to make a graph of shirt colors.
2. Talk with the children about what colors they are wearing.
3. Count how many children are wearing a color. Make a bar on the dry-erase
board. For example, if two people are wearing red shirts, draw one square for
each shirt so that the bar is two squares tall. If appropriate, ask a child to draw
a similar bar on the poster board.
4. Repeat with each color, asking children to take turns coloring the bars on the
poster board.
5. Once the information is organized on this graph, discuss it with the children.
What color are the most people wearing? The fewest? Are the same number of
people wearing two colors? How can you tell? Which colors are they?
6. Discuss with the children what else they could graph.
Teacher - to - Teacher Tip
l If several people are wearing patterned shirts, create a bar for "pattern" or
"many colors."
Assessment
To assess the children's learning, consider the following:
l Did the children participate in collecting the data?
l Did each child mark the poster board?
l Engage the children in answering questions about the bar graph. Do they
exhibit an understanding of its information?
