A Million Fish…More or Less

Author: Patricia C. Mckissack

Publisher/Date: Alfred A. Knoph Inc, 1992

ISBN: 0-679-90692-4

Grade Levels Recommended for Use: 6-8

Brief Summary: A boy learns that the truth is often stretched on the Bayou Clapateauz, and gets the chance to tell his own version of a bayou tale when he goes fishing.

Topics: bar graph; statistics; mean/median/mode; data table; scatterplot; trend line

Suggested Activities:

Below is a record of the number of rabbits (thousands) and years of study data. Have students organize the data in a table and construct a bar graph using the data.

0 years (150)
1 year (450)
2 years (475)
3 years (600)
4 years (850)
5 years (500)
6 years (400)
7 years (350)
8 years (300)
9 years (300)
10 years (300)

Have students use graph paper to construct an appropriate bar graph from the data table. Have them find the mean, median, mode, and range of the data. Students then display, discuss, and explain their bar graph to each other.

Have students also answer these questions after they construct their graph.

1. In what year did the rabbit population reach its highest point? What was the size of the population that year?
2. In what year did the rabbit population reach its lowest point? What was the size of the population that year?

Alternate graph: make a scatterplot or line plot with the above data. Or use Excel to create a scatterplot with the trend line or a line plot. Interpret what the graphs suggest about the rabbit population over time.

Websites:

Creating graphs online
Canga Rue's online graphs
More about graphs