Gr. 6 Height Data Response

Today in Math, we looked at the heights of Math 6+ students to find measures of center for the data, and compare our height to it. Below is my response to the data.

Compared to the average, median, and mode of 6th graders’ heights, I am just below middle height. The average is 60.9577465 inches, which can be rounded to 61, being less than a tenth away. The median is exactly 61 inches; and the mode is also 61 inches. Calculating multiple measures of center is helpful in this case because we have so much data, and each measure of center shows a different part of the middle height. All measures of center are just around 61, which proves that this is the ultimate ‘middle’ height. The mean shows us what exactly each student’s height should even out to. The median shows us what height is right in the middle. The mode shows us what is the most popular height. Another reason why it is important to find multiple measures of center is to check the others. For example, if the median was 52 inches, but the average was 65 inches, you would consider a calculation error, or some major outliers.
Another thing I want to bring up is the range. The range is 20 inches; the greatest height being 72 inches (6 feet exactly) and the minimum height being 52. This is quite a surprising range, because it tells us that there is a sixth grader who is 20 inches (1”8) taller than another sixth grader. To put this in perspective, that is almost 2 heads taller. When you have such a large range, having multiple measures of center can be helpful.
When I first looked at this data, I saw a lot of clusters, which made me think there was low variability. But, when you have 142 students, having clusters of at least 8 students does not necessarily show much variability. The range of 20 has made me decide that the sixth grade Math 6+ students’ heights have a higher variability than lower. There is some low variability to consider, because the data starts like this: 52, 52, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 56, 56, 56… In this case, there aren’t many outliers. You can think of 52 as an outlier, but if you were to visualize this on a line plot, you would see that they are still all in one line. However, there are not clusters here either. Here is how the data ends: … 67, 67, 67, 68, 68, 69, 70, 72, 72. I wouldn’t call 72 an outlier, but again, if this were on a line plot there would be more of a line than a tall bunch. This points to high variability. But once again, the way the mean, median, and mode match up point to low variability. Quartile 1 is 58, which isn’t very close to how the data starts off. Quartile 3 is 63, which isn’t that close to the end either. So altogether, I’m going to have to say that there is low variability, even though the range is 20 inches.
To compare my height to all of this: my height is 58 inches, which is about 3 inches shorter than the middle height.

Blobz Electricity Quiz

Tech6- Post 3

As you may or may not know, in Tech I have been working on my Choice or Passion Project. For this, we may build something related to our choice or passion. I am building a foldable chair that saves space. Below are some questions we were asked to answer.


Please share with us your successes, and failures with your project thus far in the lab. 
Making the basic outline and/or plan was definitely a success. At this point, I have a plan that I am happy with, and will help me throughout this project. I haven't had any failures, but I feel that I am not getting enough things done in one class period. I want to spend more time working and getting things done, so I get the project done in time.

What have you learned about yourself so far in the building process in the lab?
I learned that I am a person who really thinks over plans, and takes my time with them. Just two or three classes ago, I finished my plan; which isn't being extremely efficient on the planning. I think I acted this way because I have had previous experiences where I have a bad plan for a project, and that messes up the whole thing. I was really excited to get started with this, and see my end product, which is why I didn't want to mess it up. What I need to do is get the right balance, and be efficient yet thorough with my planning. Like I said, I don't want one small planning mistake to ruin my whole project, but what I am beginning to learn is that there are a lot of solutions to small problems that occur.

Do you feel you have enough resources available to you in the lab to build your project? If not, what recommendations do you have for the teacher in this area?

Frankly, I was quite surprised to see and use all the equipment we have in the lab. I haven't used more than half of them before, and what we have definitely meets the needs for my project. I really liked how we got a chance to try some of them out, whether we needed them for our project or not. On top of all the materials and equipment we have, Mr. Diebley always has ideas and solutions to small problems we have. This way, we can try out new things on our own, without having the teacher do the work for us.

To the left is a picture of my cutting setup. This is how things look when I am ready to cut. I have learned a lot about using a hand-held jigsaw over the past few weeks. For example, if you don't want the cardboard to vibrate a lot, you should keep the plate that is around the blade low. As of April 20, I have finished cutting my base. Now I only need to attach the base, cut the layers, and attach the layers.  

Health Germ Poster

In Health, we learned about how having good hygiene is important. We had to choose an activity to do that showed our learning about good hygiene. My partner and I chose to make a poster that teaches people how many germs can be in their hands, and in other places they may not have known about.

Water Project Conclusion

We finished our water project well, because we had a successful class presentation (we went first) and started donating.
We made a total of $257, and handed out over 250 flyers.

Freya and I decided to split the money to donate so both of us have a chance to donate on the website.

The website says $95.15 because it is in USD (Charity: Water is a US based organization), which is half of our amount.
Finally, I shared the video we made with my family, and it passed our goal of 60 views.

All in all, we enjoyed doing the water project, and it deepened our understanding of a lot of things. The one thing we would do if we had a similar project is plan the expenditures and the profit.  

Water Project: Week 4 (Post 2)

We wrapped up our entire Water Project pretty well.
The 5th grade presentation went smoothly, and we ended up earning over $50 in just that day. We had some left over cookies, so we sold them among 6th graders at lunch. this contributed to the $50 at the end of that day.

Above: Freya and I presenting to Ms. Smith's class. 

The poster is for April 8th (the Water Project Celebration day), and the slide show and presentation is for class tomorrow. So we are doing pretty well on time because we just need to finish the poster by next Wednesday.

Water Project Presentations

Today, we are presenting our water projects to our science class. Below is my feedback to all the groups who presented.

Adam- 
One well done: I really liked how you described your project realistically, and said what you did even if you had a problem.
One I wish: I wish you could have talked smoother, so that we could hear exactly what you were saying consistently.
One take away to help you in your presentation: Our group made a video too, so I would definitely play at least a section of my video like you did.

Jason-
One well done: I liked how you were really honest about your project, which is good because everyone can learn from that.
One I wish: I wish I could've seen pictures of you doing the project, like the tournament going on.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to be as honest as you were in my presentation, and share more of my failures as well as successes.

Parker-
One well done: It was great how you gave so much detail about the Walk for Water, like showing us the map for it. This helped me get a better idea of what you were doing.
One I wish: I wished you had more pictures in your presentation instead of having just words.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to track each week like you did, to be specific.

Rahini and Zara- 
One well done: I liked how you guys had a lot of photos to give us evidence for everything you did.
One I wish: I wish you kept your presentation concise, so we got the information we needed, and you didn't go on about one idea.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would've liked to go through the whole process and show each roadblock we had on the way.

Claire- 
One well done: You had a really logical sequence of parts to talk about. I liked how you had your purpose, everything you did, then finally the difference you made.
One I wish: I wished you had a better start or lead to your presentation, so we get some background about your project and what you did.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I thought it was good how you thoroughly went through everything you did for your project, and I should have done that.

Kyndall- 
One well done: It was good how you talked about each week in sequence.
One I wish: I wish you had less words on your slides, and more pictures.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I sent emails for my project too, so I would've wanted to include screenshots of those in my presentation.

Arjun-
One well done: Nice job on sharing each thing you did along with why it was successful or not.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos of you doing the project, rather than mostly text.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I wish I was as honest as you were in your presentation about how not everything worked out well.

Erika & Zoe- 
One well done: I really like how you guys were honest about your project, and connected that to the overall difference you made.
One I wish: I wish you guys concluded your presentation better so the audience had a better idea of what you did in all.
One take away to help you in your presentation: I would want to talk more about the video I made like you did. You guys talked about the views, and showed us that, which was great!

Mia- 
One well done: You are a great presenter, because you changed your tone and volume according to what you were saying.
One I wish: I wish you chose a better sequence to put the parts of your presentation in, because you first stated what impact your product made, then told us what you product was after a few other slides.

Robin, Sophie, and Lilly-
One well done: You guys presented well, and also had a logical order of your slides. I could hear you guys well, and you changed your voice at the right time.
One I wish: I wish you guys talked more about the Dirty Water Challenge in your presentation, because it seemed like a really big part of the project, and I didn't learn much about it.

Seung Min-
One well done: I liked how you had a variety of photos of what you did for your project.
One I wish: I wish you had less text on every slide, and relied on your oral presentation more.

Sophia- 
One well done: I liked how you explained everything you did in detail.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos, and also a sample of your t-shirt.

Isabella- 
One well done: It was great how you were really really enthusiastic! Your lead, especially really got the audience hooked in, and the sequence you put each slide/section in led to great meaning.
One I wish: I wish you had more photos, so we know exactly what you did and we can see it.

Rohan- 
One well done: It was good how you shared what you and your partner liked about the water project, so we got to hear your opinion.
One I wish: I wish you were more enthusiastic and seemed more passionate about what you were saying, rather than looking bored with it.

Ethan-
One well done: I liked how you seemed comfortable with the audience, and made it feel like you were having a conversation, rather than acting nervous.
One I wish: I wish you had more pictures so the audience had a better understanding of what you did.