A results table and a bar graph frame make up this 3-page 3rd grade science sheet. Page 1 shows three plants given 0, 1 and 2 cups of water a week, with their heights after three weeks (0 cm, 6 cm and 10 cm). Four questions ask students to read the table. On page 2 they draw three bars on a graph that runs from 0 to 12 cm in steps of 2, then finish three sentence starters to write a conclusion. The key has a model conclusion.
3.MD.B.3
“Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step "how many more" and "how many less" problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs.”
Page 2 asks for three bars on a scale that counts by 2 cm. Question 4 on page 1 is a how many more problem from the table.
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices, grades 3-5
“Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem.”
The three sentence starters on page 2 ask students to support a conclusion with the heights in the table.
A table of Plant A, Plant B and Plant C with water each week and height after 3 weeks, and a line saying sunlight and soil were kept the same. Four questions on writing lines: the tallest plant, the height of Plant B, what stayed the same, and how much taller Plant C was than Plant B.
A blank bar graph called Plant Height After 3 Weeks, with a Height (cm) axis from 0 to 12. Below it a box with three starters: My hypothesis was, The results showed and So I conclude that.
Answers to the four table questions, including 4 cm for question 4, where each bar should end, and a model conclusion.
Label the scale first
Have students write the number on every gridline before they draw a bar. The scale counts by 2, and the bars for 6 and 10 fall on a line, so most mistakes show up early.
Say the conclusion
Read the three starters aloud and ask what goes in each. Many students repeat the numbers in the last sentence instead of saying what they mean.
Grow your own
If you have seeds and a window, let students try the test over three weeks and compare their results with this table.
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