CoCoRaHS: Mathematics Connections

Math Standards

Number System: Operations with Decimals

• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.NS.B.3: Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.NS.C.7: Understand ordering and absolute value of rational numbers

Throughout the year, students collect precipitation data using their rain gauge. The quality of their data depends on their ability to precisely read and record rain gauge measurements. In addition to collecting precise data using their rain gauge, students will make sense of their data, requiring the students to understand the value of decimals written to the hundredths place. 

Students start the year in August/September by learning how to precisely read their rain gauge and record their measurements. In October, students begin creating graphs to represent their data. They create the numerical scale for each axis consisting of equal intervals that span the full range of data and then accurately placing each of their data points on the scale. In November, students begin comparing data from their station to data collected at other stations in their county. In doing so, they’ll calculate and compare averages both by hand using the standard algorithm and using tools such as Google Sheets. Students continue to develop and apply these skills for the rest of the year as they compare various sets of precipitation data across the United States and across the four meteorological seasons.

Statistics & Probability: Summarizing Numerical Data Sets

• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.1: Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers.  
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.4: Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5: Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context by:
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.A: Reporting the number of observations
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.B: Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.C: Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.

Students work with numerical data sets throughout the whole year in CoCoRaHS. In August/September students are introduced to the type of data collected on the CoCoRaHS website and begin to think about how the data can be used to answer a variety of questions. In October, students begin graphing their own data sets and investigating the affordances and limitations of different graph types. Throughout the rest of the year, students work with different types of graphs to evaluate and draw conclusions about precipitation data.

Math Practices

MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

MP2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively 

MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

MP4: Model with Mathematics

MP5: Use appropriate tools strategically

MP6: Attend to precision