Project 1 · Grades 5–8
Sibling Interviews
We start the Sibling Interviews project with an introduction to statistics. In our first lesson, we explore three core concepts: Population, Sample, and Estimate. Then, we collect 15 to 20 interviews and organize them into a dataset in Google Sheets. For the rest of the project, we learn how to describe and analyze our data.
No background in math or coding is needed. We do everything step by step in Google Sheets.
4 of 10 lessons are published. The series is ongoing, and new videos arrive roughly every other week. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay in the loop :)
Research questions in the Sibling Interviews project
Halfway through the project, we ask ourselves what questions we can answer with this dataset. We know this is not the traditional order of the scientific method, but we find this order more fitting for K–12 learners.
After the students build their datasets and get familiar with their variables, research questions become more tangible, and the surrounding discussions become more fun and interactive.
In fact, this approach mirrors a big chunk of real-world research, where academics explore existing datasets to come up with new and interesting questions and hypotheses.
By the end of the project, students learn to present what their data does and does not support, and what else they may need if they would like to go deeper into their research questions.
What you need
- A browser and a Google account.
- A notebook and a pen for the interviews.
- 15 to 20 people willing to answer a few short questions.
Curious what a finished dataset looks like? Here is ours, the one we use in the lessons.
The lessons
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To judge a soup, you only need a spoonful.
If you have played Stardew Valley, you know there is a festival every season. We thought the summer festival, the Luau, would be a great analogy for this lesson. During the Luau, everyone brings an ingredient to contribute to the communal soup. And the governor takes a spoonful to judge whether the soup tastes any good.
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A place for everything and everything in its place.
We turn our handwritten notes into a table and try not to lose anything important. Our analogy today is Minecraft, and how players need to keep their chests organized.
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Nisaba, who knows the names of things, sets them upon the tablet.
The table you built in 1.1 gets its proper statistical names. The lesson goes to the Louvre and to a corpus of Sumerian literature, exploring the oldest writings and tables that humanity has left behind.
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A picture is worth a thousand numbers.
We turn the favorite colors from our interviews into a chart one step at a time, then ask why we draw charts at all, when an average or a percentage could carry the message. The answer goes back to how our brains handle numbers.
- 1.4
Frequencies and Bar Charts
LabNot yet recorded. Subscribe and it arrives when it publishes.
Lessons 1.5 to 1.9 are still in the works.
Lessons end with a field task
Each lesson builds directly on the previous field task. Students will need to complete their assignments beforehand to be able to follow and participate. In our classroom kit, available to patrons, you can find additional homework assignments, quizzes, and discussion questions.
Students also keep a Concept Table: a running sheet with columns for Concept, Related Concepts, Description, Example, and Note. The Concept Table combines note-taking, spaced repetition, and spreadsheet practice in one habit, and by the end of the project it will become their personal textbook.
Running this with a class
Project 1 is ten lessons. The Teachers and Homeschoolers page explains the pacing. Also, check out our glossary for the concepts we cover in this project.