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Blueberry Bar Graphs

Use blueberries to show students how to group, graph and compare.

The students will count and compare numbers of blueberries by grouping the blueberries into rows.

Blueberries, a small handful for each student.

1) Divide children into small groups, of 3-5 per group.

2) Distribute a random amount of blueberries to each student in the group. (Each student in the group should receive a different amount of blueberries.)

3) Have each student in the group count how many blueberries they each received.

4) Ask students to line up their blueberries into a row from top to bottom. Have each student in the group have their rows next to each other to resemble a bar graph.

5) Have students look at their “bar graph”. Have students calculate: Who in their group has the most blueberries? Who has the least? How many more blueberries does ‘Alex’ have than ‘Michelle’?

6) Ask students how they can have the same amount of blueberries in each row, so that each student will have an equal amount of blueberries. Which students will have to give some of their blueberries to another student? (Remind students that it’s “Fair to Share”.)

7) Collect all the blueberries back from students and wash them off. Redistribute to children to snack on.

Introduce the blueberry to your students and encourage a discussion: has anyone had blueberries?  What do you eat blueberries with?  What do they taste like? etc.

Explain that you will be handing out a random number of blueberries to each student and they will be able to compare with each other who has the most, least, or the same amount by making a graph.

Help students understand that bar graphs are an easy to show and display data.  Ask students for discussion on other things they could graph. Discuss why blueberries are healthy for children.

Replace blueberries with any other small berries, beans or even cheerios.