1. The Howard County Public School
System
Secondary Mathematics Lesson Plan
Course: Pre-Algebra

2. Teaching Strategies
Higher-Order Questioning
Technology Integration
Data Analysis
Independent Reading
Interpretation of Graphics
Estimation
Extension
Concept Attainment
Think-Pair-Share
Roundtable
Jigsaw
Pairs Check/Review
Independent/Group Project
Interactive Student Notebook®
Writing
Modeling Demonstration
Think Aloud
Reciprocal Teaching
Group Activities
Simulation
Use of Video Clip
Cross-Curricular Connections
Other (explain):
Differentiation
Content
Process
Product
Learning Modalities
Visual
Auditory
Tactile/Kinesthetic
Accommodations
Extended time
Preferential seating
Learning partner
Alternative reading
Guided notes
Framed paragraphs
Other (explain):
Quarter 4 MSDE Standard 4.A.1.b
HCPSS Unit 7 HCPSS Goal
Lesson Title: Box-and-Whisker Plots
Objective(s): The student will organize and display data to make a box-and-whisker plot
and multiple box-and-whisker plots using the same scale.

3. Materials:
Manipulatives Measurement Tools
Computer Software Scientific / Graphing Calculator
Other (list below)
• Laptops w/ Internet Connection
• Graph Paper
•
Warm-Up/Pre-Assessment:
1. Go over the previous night's homework with the students.
Development/Procedures:
1. Inform the students that today they are going to learn how to create a box-and-whisker
plot. A box-and-whisker plot is a diagram that summarizes data using the mean, the upper and lower
quartiles, and the extreme values. This five number summary helps to give a complete
picture of the distribution of the data. The five number summary consists of the following:
1. Lower extreme (minimum) - The smallest or lowest value in a set of data.
2. Lower quartile (25th percentile) - The median of the lower half of a set of numbers.
3. Median (50th percentile) - The middle number in a set of data when the data are
arranged in numerical order.
4. Upper quartile (75th percentile) - The median of the upper half of a set of numbers.
5. Upper extreme (maximum) - The greatest number of a set of data.
2. Refresh the students on what a median is: The middle number in a set of data when the
data are arranged in numerical order. If the data has an even number, the median is the mean of the two
middle numbers.
3. Instruct students that in order to create a box-and-whisker plot, they need to do the
following:
1. Give it a title
2. Create a horizontal scale with proper intervals
3. Plot 5 points from the 5-number summary
4. Draw a box around the quartile values with vertical line through the median
5. Draw whiskers that extend from each quartile to the extreme data points
4. Do an example with the students using the following data:
This data represents the amounts of money in dollars raised by 13 students who
participated in a charity walk.
$40, $48, $50, $52, $54, $56, $59, $60, $64, $66, $71, $73, $75

4. 5. Inform the students that they are now going to create their own box-and-whisker plot. To
do this, they will go to the following website: http://www.nba.com/rockets/roster/. On this website,
they will find a list
of the players' weights. They will use this information to draw their own box-and-whisker
plot on graph paper. Once they have finished this, they will then go to http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav
/frames_asid_200_g_3_t_5.html?open=instructions, enter in all of the data and they will be
able to see if they created their box-and-whisker plot correctly.
6. After the students have checked to make sure that they drew the box-and-whisker plot
correctly, they will then draw another one and check it on the NVLM website, this time making it
without Yao Ming's
weight.
Closure:
1. The students will then compare the different box-and-whisker plots and a class discussion
will then take place to describe the differences between them and why the differences exist.
Assessment:
1. The students will be assessed by teacher observation throughout the class period and on a
quiz a few days later.
Homework/Extension:
1. For homework, the students will complete the Practice page in their packet on box-and-
whisker plots.
Reflections on the Lesson:
1.
2.

5. Reading Strategies
Application
Prior knowledge
Preview
Voc./Concepts
Self-monitoring through
clarifying questions
Reread
Summarize or paraphrase
Uses rubrics
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Other (explain):
Assessment
Collect and Grade
Check for Completion
In-Class Check
Rubric
Peer / Self Assessment
Journal / Learning Log
Portfolio
Constructed Response
Quiz
Test
Presentation
Performance Assessment
Informal Assessment
Exit Slip
Other (explain):