CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4

Tracking Media Use

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Lesson Overview

Lesson plan in which students calculate the number of hours they spend each day using digital media, and input their data on bar graphs. This lesson applies the strategy of data modeling to a real-life situation that students can relate to. This lesson was created with teenagers in mind, but the lesson can be adapted for children who are not using tablets and phones as much (they can track watching TV for example).

Lesson Goals:

“Students will be able to …

  • assess how much time they spend with media activities.
  • record and compare the time they spend with different forms of digital media (cell phones, Internet, etc.) and in different activities (texting, posting, and watching or creating videos).
  • formulate a viewpoint on the role that digital media play in their lives.”

Lesson Plan Materials

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

The original lesson was aimed at middle school students, and Common Sense Media suggests it targets CCSS.ELA.SL.6-8.2 (Interpret information in diverse media, including quantitatively) and CCSS.ELA.SL.6-8.5 (Use displays, including graphics, to present information). Adapted to younger grades, it could support:

  • CCSS.ELA.SL.5.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
  • CCSS.ELA.SL.5.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
  • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4 Model with mathematics.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.
  • AASL 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

“The Library Problem” – An Ongoing Column in Teaching Children Mathematics

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Schad, Brian, Joseph Georgeson, and Sarah Bunten. 2010. “The Library Problem.” Teaching Children Mathematics 16 (7): 387–89.

The authors, elementary and middle school math teachers, describe a math lesson plan that takes elementary age students to the local public library to gather and analyze data. The students count the number of words on a page of a picture book, and then tally the number of letters in each word on the same page. They describe two methods: older students can work in pairs where one student counts and one completes the table, and younger students can complete the activity using one page with a whole class. Once they have gathered data, they analyze it with the goal of understanding relationships between numbers (e.g. ratio, fraction, decimals, percentages) and how numbers can be visually represented (e.g. on a tally sheet). The authors claim that this exercise puts a difficult concept like rational numbers in the context of how many words you read or how difficult a book is. The authors conclude by inviting other teachers to try the same problem in their classes and share the outcomes. This lesson could be easily adapted by a school librarian or by a public children’s librarian.

Lesson Goals:

  • Students can tally the number of words on a page of a picture book
  • Students can tally the number of letters in each word on a page of a picture book
  • Students can compare these figures and discuss patterns they observe

Lesson Plan Materials

For more detailed instructions and examples, see: Schad, Brian, Joseph Georgeson, and Sarah Bunten. 2010. “The Library Problem.” Teaching Children Mathematics 16 (7): 387–89.

Common Core State Standards this Lesson Supports

  • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4 Model with mathematics.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner

  • AASL 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.
  • AASL 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.

Related Articles

  • Small, Marian. 2010. “North Dakota’s Centennial Quilt and Problem Solvers: Solutions: The Library Problem.” Teaching Children Mathematics 16 (7): 386–93.