Friday, November 15, 2013

Making and using bar graphs to generate interest


I wanted get my students curious as to why there are still hungry people in the world even though there are enough calories for all to eat. My CT said that in the past, her students have hardly been very interested in it. I tried introducing the topic by two simple graphs, and it worked.

First, I showed them this graph which shows that India's calorie intake per capita has gone down since 1970. Then, I pulled up the next graph which shows how India's food stocks have gone up. I could tell that the graphs had achieved their purpose when every student seemed excited to read first what the textbook had to say about the issue and then what an article I printed said. 
I finally took the time yesterday to figure out how to make a graph for myself in Excel. While it's still easier to find one online, I can often find the data much easier online. Now that I can make a graph myself in just a few minutes, I no longer have to search and search for graphs online.

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