This lesson using InspireData helps elementary and early middle school students strengthen their understanding of percent as the relationship between part and whole. The activity uses the Ice Cream Survey database found in InspireData (InspireData Starter Screen>Databases>Mathematics>Ice Cream Survey). Analyze the provided sample data or make the activity more engaging by using the database template and the Survey/e-Survey tools to collect student data.

1) Begin with a Stack Plot of Gender. Pose the following questions:
• Are there more males or more females in our class? How many of each gender? (a Count can be added to the plot to confirm answers)
• If 50% is half of the class, estimate the percentage of males and the percentage of females in our class.

2) Switch to a Pie Plot and add a Percent of Count. While a Percent of Count can also be added to the Stack Plot, the Pie Plot reinforces the concept of percent as a relationship between part and whole. Remind students that a percentage does not indicate how many, but rather lets you know what proportion of the class is male and female. Pose the following questions:
• How close was your guess?
• How is this graph different from the previous graph? Does it show the same information or different information?

3) Repeat for the field Favorite Flavor. It may be instructive to do the same for Name/Initials. Why is a Pie Plot not very useful in terms of displaying this data?

Adaptations:
• Have students calculate percentages from the Stack Plot, and then switch to the Pie Plot to confirm their calculations.
• Begin the lesson with a review of benchmark percentages. What does it mean if 100% of the class is wearing blue? 50%? 25%? 75%?
• After completing Steps 1 and 2, have students work individually or in pairs to finish the activity for the other fields in the database.
• Are there any survey questions that could be asked in which 100% of students would answer the same way? Or a question where about 25% of the class would answer one way and 75% the other way? Add fields to the database and gather more data using the Survey/e-Survey. Create graphs to see how close the data is to these benchmark percentages.

This activity was created using InspireData 1.5, which must be installed to open the file. Download a 30-day free trial at href="http://www.inspiration.com/freetrial">www.inspiration.com/freetrial or if you have InspireData 1.0, download a complementary upgrade.