NCETM_Mathematics_Department_Workshop_Stem_and_Leaf_Diagrams_Resource_Sheet_HT1.SAL.1

Mathematics Department Workshops Topic: Stem and Leaf Diagrams Resource Sheet HT1.SAL.1 Stem and Leaf Diagrams Activity 1: Beat the teacher Give the learners mini-whiteboards and pens. Ask them to write down a number between 10 and 40 and hold it up so that you can see it. Record all the numbers on the whiteboard or OHP in any order. Ask the learners to divide their mini-whiteboard into two sections. In one section they can copy the numbers displayed on the board or OHP. In the other half of the mini-whiteboard, the learners should put the numbers in order, from lowest to highest. They then need to find the mode, median and range. Emphasise that this is a race against the teacher to see who gets the correct answer first, the teacher or the learners. (You may choose to give learners a head start if you are confident that you will win). When you have completed the tasks using a stem-and-leaf diagram (assuming that the learners do not use this approach), tell the group that you have finished, but ask them to continue until at least three learners have completed as well. Stop the activity and ask the first three finishers to give a general description of how they approached the task. Invite the class to explain any other approaches. Now reveal how you did the task so quickly. This sets the scene for why the stem-and- leaf diagram is useful. To avoid confusion between the data that forms the stem and the data that forms the leaf you might use this diagram to help learners to remember that the stem is vertical and the leaf is horizontal. s T L E AF M (You will notice that the leaf has one letter to the left of the vertical stem to indicate that data can be written to the left of the stem as well as the right. As an extension activity, you could briefly discuss back- to-back stem-and-leaf diagrams and invite the learners to explain how this would allow them to compare two data sets). www.ncetm.org.uk A Department for Children, Schools and Families initiative to enhance professional development across mathematics teaching